Many experienced warriors gathered around the supposed intruder. She could see they were ready to face him with all they had. There were swords, spears, and bows summoned. All kinds of metal, and leather armors were covering their bodies. No one dared to not pay close attention to him.
Except they were not holding their weapons, most of them could be spotted left on the ground.
As for the owners they were sitting on benches set around. They were slowly consuming something that looked like sandwiches, salads. Some refreshments looked like they were cut out from the ancient times, before the Spell descended. There were also meat pies, the ones that she ate once with...
'What was I thinking about? Ah, yes, the picnic...'
There were glasses made of some peculiar glass. They were filled with some dark brown fluid, looking fizzy, and sweet. The task of pouring it was delegated to one of the Masters.
Fire Keepers appeared to be relaxed, and pleased as if they weren't in the Dream Realm anymore, busy enjoying whatever happened. Their way of acting matched the behavior of the comrades, when they were dining on her cooking. Normally that would be a reason to be proud.
Unfortunately the one responsible for this wasn't her. It's not a matter of jealousy. Nephis would be actually glad if among the Fire Keepers there was someone she could consider a master in the art of nutrition. But it wasn't her follower either.
That made her wonder if she really should allow that, especially having fun in front of a potential enemy. Perhaps making a lecture later would adequate
In the center of this exceptionally joyful anomaly there was a man. It looked handsome, had a tall stance, despite his skin was so pale she could believe he treated it with chalk. Everything else screamed at her with what could be reduced to one word, 'black'.
Black lustrous hair, onyx eyes, blackness covering his chest, and deeply black wings. And it wasn't anything just like achromatic black. Every inch of blackness had an unassuming note of depth, and saturation as if inside blackness there was a whole world of different colors. Nephis could discern that the blackness of each part of him had a different source.
The sight ignited an alien envy in her, this one was born from longing. Before the First Nightmare she also used to have black hair instead of her current silver ones... It was a terribly shallow comparison.
'Great, I'm getting impractical now.'
Above everything else the man seemed to be incredibly confident. He was standing before warriors, some of them were Masters, and that didn't cause him to lose it. He behaved like a salesman making some advertisement. And his black wings...
'What an impostor. Must be a fan of me, or maybe it's his aspect?'
The mysterious visitor stopped talking, dismissed whatever he was holding in his hands, and bowed towards her.
"Greetings to Princess Nephis. Please, forgive me the way I'm here. It's for the best"
Sunny meant that when he said there's no other way to approach Nephis. Usually she was surrounded by the members of Valor, and was under almost constant observation. The contributions in the war between clans earned her a lot of merits, and at the same time forced Valor to trust her more, but the main reason she was trusted was, because Valor needed her more. A total outsider in the picture can raise an unwanted suspicion.
In contrast, here, on the isolated island, Nephis could do whatever she wanted. No clansmen would want to follow her to Chained Isles. She also had a perfect excuse to be there. As a fresh Saint she had to develop her own battle art. That included an unique essence technique, physical training, and integration of all her abilities as well as attributes into her new battle style.
"State your purpose. It's Valor's special citadel. But you know that. Not anyone can be allowed. I don't believe you wanted just to please my people."
"I'm a humble shopkeeper, known by some as Master Sunless. I seek the opportunities. I'm here to get the permission directly from you to establish here."
"What is your affiliation?"
"None, ma'am. I guess till recently I belonged to the Army Command. We met shortly after your transcension. I believe no affiliation would match yours."
Then he saw Cassie appearing near the tower's entrance.
Nephis looked at her as if she expected her to tell something. Then the princess of Valor looked back at Sunny, lightly widened in surprise, and spoke softly.
"Come inside. I feel we shouldn't talk here."
Sunny nodded, and followed Nephis inside. He remembered to dismiss his Covetous Coffer. Otherwise some Fire Keepers could decide to touch it, and the chest would cause trouble retaliating.
'What's going on? Cassie only appeared, and Nephis seemed to understand something.'
There were possibilities. First, it could be related directly to Cassie's aspect. Second, there could be a Memory like the Shroud of Graceless Dusk that could relay messages directly to the mind of the target.
He knew the insides of the Tower of Longing pretty well. The same corridors, stairs, balcony, and windows. They were walking silently upwards when Nephis started talking in insinuation, while guiding him through.
"You found me not once, but twice. It really has to mean something. You're not a simple shopkeeper. It's impossible here anyway. On top of that weeks ago someone told me he slayed the Winter Beast, the Corrupted Titan that ravaged the Antarctica Center. I suppose it's you."
Sunny smiled at the conclusion. His grin widened rapaciously.
"I take it that you're right. You're not a simple princess of Valor either. Still it would be nice to have times when we all three can be simply ourselves."
Nephis turned to a window, measuring the vast nothingness spreading in almost all directions.
"Princess Nephis, I hope to talk about what I want, and what I have to offer. It will be much easier that way."
"You have some guts, but fine. I was never into honorifics."
"Me neither. But I need to add some context."
The conversation was flowing smoothly. There was a time Sunny seriously feared what it would be for him to approach Nephis. Before her his problems always seemed so big, so unreachable. Whenever she revealed the truth the only sensible thing was to hide somewhere, and try to not be devoured by the power of events. Only this time he was the one holding secrets.
"As you may have already noticed, I'm fateless. Fate can't determine my actions, but in exchange it can't connect me to other people, even to myself."
"How is that possible?" Nephis asked.
Sunny shrugged shoulders.
"I don't know. Ask Lady Cassia. Maybe one day she'll tell you that secret. Well, assuming her beautiful head is still able to contain it.".
Nephis didn't even look directly at Cassie, but the perplexed surprise of both was one of the best satisfactions Sunny had these days. Nonetheless Sunny didn't try to sound funny at all.
"All I remember is that a bird tore something out of my soul, and then... Tadam, I'm banished from fate. I lived through various kinds of pain already, but that is a new way of suffering."
When he said those words Sunny suddenly remembered something important he had to tell before it's too late.
"In any case, don't ask me who I was before that. I know you're curious, but, believe me, that's more than you can bite. If I answer, and I have to inform you, I'm literally compelled to answer all your questions, that's my flaw by the way, then you'll forget not only the answer, but also the fact that you asked a question."
There was another moment, when Nephis looked at Cassie. From the time she appeared she didn't utter a word. Sunny knew that the two were very close to each other. Cassie was probably one of the very few human beings she could trust with secrets. But something between the two was a little wrong. Nephis never showed this level of understanding of Cassie. In the end Cassie was even more reserved about sharing real thoughts than Sunny, because of the burden of knowledge. The burden is impossible to understand if you don't experience it yourself.
There had to be a different level on which they were communicating, because Nephis despite hearing something so ridiculous was able to digest it fast.
"So are you looking for ease in your suffering?"
"Not quite. Perhaps. My fate is undone, princess. That cannot be fixed, and perhaps it shouldn't be fixed. I'm not sure what I'm hoping to find ultimately."
"Master Sunless, I don't think I can really help you. It rather reminds me of a story."
"There was a poor man that lived his life in misery, called Schlemihl. He didn't have many who would care about him. He wandered around doing a minor task for some money. One day he had a simple task of delivering a message to a rich man living in a manor, who had all the riches one could desire. When the poor man was about to leave the rich man offered him a bottomless sack filled to the brim with valuables. He set one condition: He would sell him his shadow. The poor man hoping to change his life easily agreed to that trade barely being able to believe losing shadow is a real deal. He thought he would live the best life ever."
Sunny was a bit curious. A story about shadows? Why didn't Nephis tell it earlier? He really lacked different perspectives on shadows. To incite it a little, Sunny revealed something he knows on the topic.
"I can guess he didn't. Losing a shadow is not a light thing. I saw people losing their shadows, although not by trade. Humans wouldn't survive that."
"Yeah, it didn't turn out great. When he had shadow, having it seemed like nothing. Though, the rich gentleman somehow even made it that the man survived his shadow being rolled down, and detached, and after that he was perfectly right in body, and mind."
"That gentleman had to be a Saint at least."
"All I know is that he was a devil."
Nephis answered vaguely, and continued.
"Suddenly he started being treated by people like an unwanted guest. Schlemihl was rich, but people looked at him in disgust. Children, and old ladies were horrified at how someone can live without a shadow. Some were more compassionate. He tried to live an extravagant life like a king, but even servants he employed didn't want to serve him when they learned he doesn't have a shadow. He tried to conquer the heart of the woman he desired. It went quite the same. As soon as she, and her parents learned about the lack of shadow, he was rejected.
He tried to get a false shadow for himself, but it couldn't stick to him. He tried to regain his shadow, but the gentleman this time offered the worst deal, selling his soul for the shadow. There was even a moment he found a shadow without a master. It wasn't pretty, but the man desired to have a shadow so much that even an ugly shadow would do. It didn't work. On top of that the shadow indeed had a master, and by trying to rob him, he caused him to lose his own shadow..."
"How did it end? It turned out somehow for him?"
"He had his ups, and downs, mostly downs despite being awfully rich. He decided to live as a lone researcher, travel the world. He spurned his friend who was kind enough to keep aiding him, because he didn't want him to share his burden. "
Sunny was used to stories Nephis was pouring into him to make up for his lacking education. His fate might be broken, but that didn't really change him or her. Some stories he could still relate to himself. He took many helpful inspirations in Odysseus. The story she told this time seemed to relate to him even more than usual.
"But it isn't a good ending. Wouldn't his problems end if people weren't so prejudiced about aesthetics? How come he didn't know the value of shadow?"
"The story wasn't supposed to be helpful in the first place. Its purpose is to say a banal principle: Value what you have even if you're miserable. What value can it have for a person that already suffered the loss? But I won't judge you for something so petty. Though, looking at you... your shadow is not here."
Nephis said defensively, and pointed at the ground beneath his feets. Sunny chuckled on that.
"Princess, it might sound off. Not only I do have my own shadow, but in more than one way I am a shadow. It's just somewhere far away doing an important task for me."