All around the academy students stirred, some waking up, others sleeping in. The cafeteria grew more and more by the second as they filled their stomachs before their classes. Of course, the academy was unique in comparison to a standard school. Since dreamers were only obligated to participate in some few courses, combat most importantly.
Alternatively, extra classes catered to specific aspects, information, politics and more were non-mandatory. Most legacies already had a fruitful upbringing, catering their time towards combat and knowledge orientation programs.
It was also quite strange, considering that everyone lived with few connections. As a teacher, one naturally couldn't grow too attached considering very few dreamers survived their first transportation to the dream realm. And those that did were immediately swept up or had a promised future.
Hence they never truly connected or stayed around their generous teachers, despite having lived in such proximity and interacted regularly..
However, in one class—in a course given not much attention, two figures charismatically conversed. The room was small and ill-kept in comparison to the more popular courses. But that didn't affect the honest atmosphere of those who sought knowledge here.
"Marvelous! Truly ingenious!"
Julius hurriedly continued to draw out notes and thesis's on a worn-down chalkboard, as a person watched idly on the opposite of his desk. Their posture was relaxed and open, speaking of comfort, a sense of hospitality in the old man's presence.
"Please….these are merely speculations in correlation of the topographical development in the Chainsed Isles region"
The bright eyed professor whirled around, face brimming with joyous enlightenment.
"Boy how dare you be so humble!" he heartily chuckled, "My…if I wasn't wearing this coat, I would have easily mistaken you for the teacher of this class!"
Sunny shook his head.
"No, no….these are merely theories I have developed with my personal research"
Julius frowned with concern, leaning against the desk.
"Surely you must publish them, I would wholeheartedly support their publicity! Never could I dare to infringe on your work, such a rising aspirant mind."
Hidden, a smile formed on Sunny's lips.
"That is very like you…"
Pacing around, Julius pulled his ancient leather chair back. He slumped down, pulling himself forward as he crossed his arms in concern, his voice hoarse and wary.
"You speak with familiarity…don't tell me"
He gasped, eyes wide as he leaned back.
"Were you an optimistic assistant I chased away in the past!?! I know my obsessiveness was a bit dire back then, however I would be appalled by my negligent behaviour if I did so!"
Sunny raised his palms, waving lightly.
"No…..I am not. I am nobody really, my research is a result of my adventures before my life took a turn.
He paused, his voice now quieter.
"...Quite a big turn"
Julius nodded his head solemnly, "I understand, having experienced your trial and moved here, it must have been like a new world!"
He chuckled.
"Don't worry, we all get lost. But with time, we may realize our path…..all that's left is for desire to guide us"
Opposite his desk Sunny shifted.
"Lost…..yeah, I am quite lost" he whispered quietly.
Both of them became slightly startled as the clock chimed, signalling the beginning of the first modules. Sunny took a breath, rising as he nodded to Julius.
"It seems I must go."
Julius shot up, hands waving.
"Surely you jest! You would fit right in with this class, you could even act as my assistant with the students like yourself! I am quite saddened that you dropped by before the start of the class just to share your thoughts."
Reaching for the door, Sunny paused. He slowly turned around waving lightly as he chuckled.
"I'm quite busy, I have a lot to prepare for the winter solstice. But i'll be sure to drop by ever so often in the morning before your classes"
Julius's mouth hung open as his eyes dipped in silent defeat. Letting out a long sigh, he collapsed back into his chair as he looked at the boy with a smile.
"I understand," he paused, smiling warmly, "Ah! I was so caught up I forgot my manners…may I know your exalted name?"
Sunny stood silent, back facing him. Eventually, he turned around—his voice quiet but tender.
….
"...Sunny. You can call me Sunny"
Julius beamed, nodding in affirmation.
"Sunny….i'll never forget! Though I am always nose deep in papers, I promise to remember!"
The door handle turned as Sunny stepped through, looking over his shoulder. His voice trailed as the door closed.
"Thank you, it means a lot….."
With that, he disappeared behind the door. Julius silently stared, before leaning back in his chair, looking at the ceiling. His lips twitched as he let out a quiet laugh, pulling himself up.
He pushed the chair around, sitting quietly as he read over all the notes.
The theories of the bottomless pit in the Chained Isles, the nature of the chains, correlations between Nightmare creature biology, and lastly…..speculations about its worsening condition and how it could be tackled.
'Nobody, huh? How can someone so promising call themselves nobody…'
His eyes widened as he noticed the door handle jiggling, a shadowy figure on the other side. He rose quickly, eagerly hoping that the mysterious prodigy had come back for some final words. Eyebrows dropped when a blonde haired girl quietly peaked in.
"Am I early?" Casie quietly asked
Julius blinked, before donning his usual charismatic smile.
"No, no child! You are an excellent student, right on time! You're the fir—no, second to arrive." Julius chortled.
Cassie shifted at the statement, as she closed the door behind her. Her voice sounding out, a little anxious:
"There was a person here before me?"
Julius chuckled as he walked over, gently guiding her to his desk as he sat her down and returned to his side.
"Yes, sadly they arrived and left before you showed up."
Cassie's shoulders rose as she leaned forward slightly, her face tense.
"W-Was it a boy? Did he say what his name was?"
Julius nodded.
"A bright mind, Sunny was his name. Gods, it was as if we switched roles—truly a hidden gem! The intellectual insight he gave into theories regarding the history of the Dream Realm and the future potential in colonialism and integration was truly revolutionary. How scary at such a young age…..such in-depth knowledge seems like something one could attain only after thousands of years of research! Really, I must hold him hostage next time he arrives and get him to work with m-"
A polite cough sounded as Julius looked at Cassie.
"Uh—could you describe what he looked like if you don't mind…."
Julius tilted his head as he frowned with concern.
"Look like?" he mumbled, "Child, don't tell me you have developed a certain liking towards this fellow with the winter solstice approaching. I know I may sound rash, but soon you wi-"
Once again he was cut off as Cassie coughed, this time not so politely and a bit rushed. Strangely her cheeks were oh so lightly flushed.
"No, he's my friend!" she hurriedly said
.....
'He's my only friend'
The atmosphere turned awkward as they sat silently. Thankfully, Cassie didn't let it prolong as she pointed at her blindfold, smiling.
"Also, if you somehow haven't noticed….I cannot see what he looks like although I wish I could."
Papers shifted as Julius leaned forward, his eyes slightly panicked.
"I understand, I understand….."
Cassie waited quietly, as Julius looked up gathering his thoughts as he began to give her the details, like a detective at a crime spot.
"Well for one, his attire was quite peculiar. He wore only black with a sense of fashion that must reside with the new generation…well fit pants that resembled something you'd see in the military with a loose traditional looking tunic that layered a bit over it. Strange, the color was so dark and absolute I was convinced they were memories of sorts."
Behind her blindfold, Cassie's frown deepened.
'How can someone who labels themself as a shadow and claim to not be noticed have such a flamboyant sense of fashion?'
She shook her head, pressing for more information.
"What about his face, how did he look?"
Her shoulders slightly stiffened from a burst of laughter that came from the other side of the desk.
"Now that has to be the most peculiar part!" Julius chortled, ".....he had no face"
If Cassie wasn't blind, she would have shown the most shocked face a person was capable of. She instead could only lurch forward as her mouth dropped open, her voice louder and alarmed.
"WHAT?"
Julius continued to chuckle, "What I mean to say is that I didn't see it myself! He wore an equally black facemask with a pair of glasses that seemed to absorb all the light around him."
He paused, stroking his beard.
"Though his hair was very long and silky, I almost mistook him for a woman"
At the remark, a chill crept through the room causing both of them to briefly shiver.
In her seat, Cassie shuddered as she became more and more confused by the second, her thoughts slightly spiraling.
"D-Did he say why he did so?"
Julius's laughter abruptly stopped as he cleared his throat.
"He said he experienced an unwanted development with his appearance….something that gave people the wrong impression, thus I didn't press"
Cassie grabbed the armrests of her chair, slightly light-headed from what she was learning. It was just too peculiar. He said nobody noticed or remembered who he was, despite having such an unique and eye-catching sense of style. Without a doubt he would have been a hot topic for bullying and rude remarks, which Cassie felt torn and conflicted by. However, the most revelational piece of information was his facial appearance.
'Hides his face from everyone…?'
She was stumped.
Just yesterday he had boasted about being a Jade beauty, but according to the professor—he instead hid like an unfortunate disfigured victim? Her lips quivered slightly as she lowered her head.
His outrageous claims and feats had never settled with her, as she naturally assumed they were attempts to cheer her up and liven the conversation.
'Slaying a Tyrant as a mundane?'
'Sacrificing himself to the Gods?'
But now, it began to dawn on her…..
Were these also attempts to cover up his misery and isolation after the development he spoke of? Sadly…..it seemed to make sense, aligning with the nature of how he met and introduced himself.
Someone who was nothing, a shadow that nobody remembered or knew.
"....So you were hiding all that pain of loneliness with a smile?" she whispered, tears beginning to form under her blindfold.
Julius quietly watched as her shoulders shivered, her mouth twitching as she clearly fought back tears. His eyes deepened.
"Don't tell me that rascal did something to hurt you…" he muttered,
"Just let me know! I'll be sure to give him an appropriate thrashing next time he sneaks in here!"
Sniffles sounded out as Cassie pulled out a napkin and dabbed her moist eyes beneath her blindfold. She awkwardly smiled as she spoke, her voice a little shaky and interrupted by gasp-like laughter.
"He's a friend, an important friend to me….it just seems that he has the tongue of a snake."
Putting the napkin away she straightened herself.
"I'll make sure to interrogate him later" she giggled, "But I think we should get on with the lesson, he did recommend and stress its importance to me after all"
Julius beamed as he nodded in affirmation, commencing his enthusiastic dronning with information and advice. Cassie listened intently with a smile, briefly writing small notes in braille which she was becoming familiar with. All the while, Sunny watched from the shadows in the corner.
He smiled.
'That was fun. Although I might have to pull out Weaver's mask later when I talk with her at lunch"
Wait….would that even work? He was transmitting his thoughts after all, not speaking.
As soon as the door closed, he had dissolved and moved into the shadows in the corner of the room. As a Supreme, his speed in shadow step between the given distance was so mind-bogglingly quick, it might have neared the speed of light. Silently, he had listened to their small-talk about him—stirring grumbles, nods of approval and some personal notes.
'Flamboyant attire? What's wrong with my tunic?'
Sunny didn't really pay too much attention to his style of appearance, such as thing was irrelevant to a Supreme. He only really had three outfits which he made from shadows. The Nebulous Mantle which was a full cloth piece, his most trustworthy and favorite. Then there was his government battle suit which he would manifest in appropriate times, and lastly the now Jade Mantle which he summoned in combat.
The additional accessories were to cover his appearance, in tandem with preserving and hiding his existence. Even if this was a new world, he was still Weaver's Heir. And that meant that there was a Forgotten God who would also stir if people learned and worshipped him.
In honesty, he wasn't completely sure how his existence interacted with the forbidden lineage and the Forgotten God of this world. Would gaining recognition stir the Forgotten God similar to his own reality? Or did it in fact not recognise him, thus allowing for freedom of interacting with people?
He had some plans to test it later, and he would also investigate how these forbidden lineage pieces interacted with him.
Later of course….
He paused, the earlier comment about his choice of fashion nagging at him.
'Nonsense! The Nebulous Mantle is superior to anything whether it be style or necessity.'
It slipped his mind as he watched Cassie pleasantly laugh as Julius made terrible jokes while teaching her. That smile….
It stirred something old inside him…
If there was one thing he swore to do for this world.
He would protect that smile.
The smile that he briefly saw glimpses of on the beginning of the Forgotten Shore, childish giggles and snickers from his ambiguous conversations and remarks about their predicament. The same one he watched vanish and get buried under silent grief and torment. A feeling which the Cassie he knew had long forgotten and lost in the midst of her silent battle with fate.
Shadows shifted as he continued to silently watch her giggle. An innocent expression of how she felt….how she expressed herself. Something which scarily contrasted with her cold and calculative nature in the future; perfectly fitting the metaphor of a wolf in sheep's clothing.
Except right now…..she was just a sheep, an innocent lamb.
One who could still smile and find joy.
He rarely saw her smile in the present.
...
Things could change.
He would change them.
Cassie wouldn't be alone this time. She wouldn't have to be subjected to powerless decisions by herself, she didn't have to hopelessly watch as people met the future's she foresaw. Fate was broken, but if it tried to repair and change events against his will, causing her pain…..
The shadows grew darker all around the academy.
But now…..he would watch and protect what he cherished. And so, he rested quietly in the shadows—listening as they both talked and laughed. Not allowed to be involved….
…..As always
Because for now—seeing her smile again, even just once…
It was enough.
The air a little less cold just as his heart.
********
Cassie politely said her thanks as she left the class, Julius guiding her out as she entered the hallway and made her way to her next class. Behind her, Sunny quietly resided in her shadow spreading his shadow sense across the entire academy.
It was weird.
Compared to when he had arrived in the past, everything was tunnel visioned and never really stuck in his mind with his priorities. But now, he could sense and feel every single movement in the building. Silently,, he absorbed and observed it all as four shadows slipped out of Cassie's shadow.
Three of them moved at inhumane speeds venturing out of the city.
While another rested above in the shadow of a lamp, in a large room. Below, hundreds of students gathered. They murmured and whispered, watching as the spar continued in the combat ring.
"Next candidates!"
Sunny was quite peeved that he had to spectate as a shadow, wanting to manifest and pour himself a glass of well-aged wine. It was appropriate for the occasion.
'Now this is some fun nostalgia….'
Murmurs became more and more intense as two people stepped into the combat ring. A tall, poised silver haired girl with a spark in her eyes—face flat and emotionless, her appearance causing the surrounding shadows to stir and lighten. And on the opposite side, her combatant stepped in….
Immediately, the shadows unknowingly deepened as some students shivered.
A tall and well built handsome man, ivory curly hair and an emblem proudly stamped on the clothing of his shoulder.
The emblem of the Han Li Clan.
Above them all, Sunny's shadow lay still as the bell chimed, and their figures moved.