"It is closed. No, it is not another lie. I never lie. I'm glad you figured out who I am, Lady Silent Stalker. Are you satisfied?" Sunny smiled politely.
"No, not in the slightest. If I'm being honest, I couldn't give a shit about who you are underneath that mask. I never have; I only want to know about your intentions, Saint Sunless." She stepped closer into the Emporium.
"My intentions? If you sit down, I will gladly enlighten you, my lady." He pulled out a chair for her, only causing the ever-present frown on her face to deepen.
"Cut the shit and quit acting polite. What are your intentions with Bin? With Clan Song?" She snapped at him, closing the door behind her.
His smile slightly dimmed. "Nothing, Eunbin is a good friend. I intend to help win this war."
"Like I'll believe that load of crap, I don't know why you are allied with us or why you have befriended her, but if that goes any further and she develops feelings for you and you break her heart, just know that I will kill you, slowly and painfully. The same applies if you betray us." She moved even closer, summoning her daggers.
Sunny's smile completely vanished, and he stepped closer as well; his lightless eyes were cold enough to make nightmare creatures shiver.
"Silent Stalker, it is not wise to threaten an ally, especially when I have no intentions of doing the former nor the latter. Besides, how would your mother react if she found out one of her daughters attacked a harmless shopkeeper?" He continued, not giving her a chance to respond.
"Before you do try anything, I want you to think very carefully about how easily it would be for me to snap your neck before you have a chance to react, how easy it would be to tear you limb from limb, knowing that no one would be able to hear your cries of misery. Do you truly want to start a fight that you are fully aware you will not be able to finish?" His voice was now completely devoid of emotion.
"There you are, finally showing your true colors. You are quite the actor, fooling people into thinking you are a handsome but naive shopkeeper who is pleasant to be around. Someone whom people would be willing to let their guard down around. Beating yourself like a ragdoll for an hour before us to sell the act." The Silent Stalker smiled darkly, but Sunny could feel a hint of weariness creeping into her shadow.
Sunny slowly shook his head. "Master Sunless is my real personality, but so is Lord Shadow; it depends on the environment and circumstances."
Silent Stalker wasn't convinced but nodded nonetheless.
"Well? What is it going to be?" To his surprise, she backed off and sat down.
"I want you to tell me your intentions, specifically." Silent Stalker sat down across from him with a scathing glare.
"Excellent. I'm glad we agreed on something. Do you want anything to drink?" He slipped on his polite mask again, smiling at her.
"No."
"Alright." Sunny entered the kitchen and returned with two glasses of lemonade a few minutes later. Sitting back down at the table, he handed one to her. He put it before her when she didn't move to take it.
"Hurry up, it's already past midnight." She grumbled.
'What? You came to me, lady, not the other way around!'
There were a few minutes of silence before she spoke up again. "You're not concerned that someone heard what you said to me?
Sunny shook his head.
"No, I knew you were coming, so I placed soundproof memories around my shop, and because I did not plan on going through with it in the first place, I just wanted you to back down." He shrugged.
"What?" She tilted her head with a frown.
"We don't have to like each other, but are still allies for Clan Song, Silent Stalker," Sunny concluded.
"Fine, but if you try anything, it won't end well for you, Saint Sunless. Treat my sister with the right intentions. Bin has taken a liking to you for whatever reason, even going as far as calling you a friend; it's the first time I've seen her smile without having to fake it for everyone else because she is seen as a seductress. Don't break that or else." Her voice was full of disdain.
'What?' Sunny was dumbfounded.
"I'll be keeping my eye on you, Sunless." Silent Stalker rose from the chair with a look of wariness and walked towards the door.
"Are you going to tell them who Lord Shadow is?" Sunny raised an eyebrow.
"No, my sisters will figure it out, or you'll tell them eventually." Turning her back towards him, she left the emporium and closed the door behind her.
Sunny looked at the untouched lemonade with a frown.
'Not even a sip? How rude!'
He picked up the glass of lemonade and stared at it momentarily before taking a sip.
"Is it any good?" A pleasant voice asked from somewhere.
Sunny nearly spat out his lemonade.
"Yes, it is! But what the hell are you doing? Are you eavesdropping on my conversations?" He glared at the glass to see his reflection smiling at him.
"Me? Of course not. I was simply curious as to why Silent Stalker was walking towards your emporium. It is very boring in the nights of Raven Heart, and I wanted something to do. It is not my fault that you started conversing about Transcendent Song Eunbin or Clan Song." Mordret smiled politely.
"The conversation is over now, so you can get the hell out." Sunny spat out with venom.
"Sunless, you are not a very nice person, do you know that?" Mordret slightly frowned.
"Yes, I know. Why would I be nice to a psychopath like you?" Sunny frowned.
"May I have a glass?" He tilted his head.
"No."
"Ah, you make me sad, Sunless." Mordret still held a polite smile. A moment later, Sunny's reflection mimicked his expression and movements again.
'Damnation! How much longer do I have to put up with this guy?!'
Mordret was popping up out of nowhere whenever he pleased. Sunny had feared this would happen when he moved to Raven Heart. Even while being forgotten, the bastard still took an interest in Sunny in his own twisted way.
In the end, though, it didn't matter whether or not he popped up. As long as he stayed away from Rain and Aiko, Sunny could attempt to tolerate his presence in Raven Heart.
Sunny went into the kitchen and looked at the plate of pancakes and coffee he had set down before Silent Stalker walked inside.
Hovering his hands over the coffee and plate, he smiled with satisfaction. "Still very warm."
Going outside to the front porch with his dinner in hand, Sunny summoned the Shadow Chair and sat on it, sighing tiredly.
Nephis needed a weapon that would grow with her.
He needed to find a way for them to reach natural supremacy.
Nightmare was still lulling nightmare creatures to sleep for the war.
Rain still had to awaken naturally.
He still had a lot to do.
"One step at a time."
***
Two weeks had passed since the conversation with Silent Stalker. Sunny had long closed the Brilliant Emporium for the night and was now walking through the quiet streets of Raven Heart again, something he found himself doing often nowadays.
Who could blame him?
At night, the moon shone brightly down on Raven Heart, allowing Sunny to appreciate this place's beauty. It was also peaceful and still, something Sunny had greatly overlooked for a while. He loved walking around because it gave his original body time to think without any distractions.
Stopping in place, he stared at the moon with a faint smile.
If only the gods had not left their sibling Dream God with the void creatures and felt shame, which made them, the rest of the universe, and the cage they made to imprison the void imperfect. Because of the gods' actions, every realm was merged with the dream realm.
Sunny would have loved to settle down here someday if not for that.
In another life, perhaps.
"I thought I would find you out here." A husky voice spoke from close behind him.
"Lady Eunbin." He turned around with a smile and bowed.
"Sunless." Her alluring lips twisted into a smile.
Eunbin still wore the memory she commissioned from him when Sunny first arrived in Raven Heart.
She must've really loved it!
Sunny had turned to stare at the moon again
"Be careful not to stare at the moon for too long, it's a bad habit." Sunny heard her saunter up next to him.
"Oh? Why's that, my lady?" He turned towards her.
"It could stare back." She warned.
'So it's like that in Raven Heart too.' He tore his gaze from the moon onto her beautifully scarred face and dark eyes staring at him.
"Sunless, I have a question." Her eyes slowly wandered across him for a moment before returning to his eyes.
"Go ahead." He nodded.
"You know you don't have to pretend like you do in front of everyone else with your polite act? It is fine with me if you are yourself." She smoothed out her dress.
"Yes, I know." Sunny nodded.
"Good, everyone wears a mask, whether it is a figurative one or a literal one." She looked him deep in the eyes.
'No way, does she know?'
Before he could think about what she had just said, Eunbin had asked another question.
"When was the last time you relaxed?" Eunbin absentmindedly fixed the jewelry on her hand.
"Just a couple of weeks ago, I had a plate of pancakes and a cup of coffee!" He smiled brightly, but it dimmed when she gave him a look.
"That is a meal, not relaxing." Eunbin pursed her lips.
"Eating can be relaxing for some people." He pointed out.
"Sunless, I am serious." She frowned.
Sunny remained silent for a long while. "Years ago, when I first awakened, and the year after I became a master. Those were the last times I really relaxed."
"I see." She nodded.
"How do you feel about being in water?" Eunbin stepped a bit closer.
"Water and I don't always see eye to eye," Sunny told her, but he must've made a face when doing so because she began to laugh.
"I'm sorry, I am, I just didn't expect you to have such a strong reaction to what I thought was a simple question. That is my fault; I should have worded it better." She suppressed a chuckle.
"How do you feel about being on a beach?" She asked with a playful smile still on her lips.
"I'm not sure, I've never been on one," Sunny admitted.
"Why not?"
"I've never had the time." He slightly shrugged.
"Oh? But you did when you became a master. That is what you said. Ah! I think I know why you haven't." Her smile became wider.
Sunny had a bad feeling.
"Do tell." He forced a smile.
"You are afraid of water." She smiled sweetly.
Sunny's eyes widened. "I am not, I'm just wary of it."
"It sounds like you are afraid of it to me."
"No, that is ridiculous." Sunny shook his head.
"It's okay, Sunless, you'll find no judgment from me unless you continue to deny that you are afraid of it." Her smile became mischievous.
"I'm not denying anything!"
"That is not what I hear." She tapped her ear.
"You must be getting up there in age, then." He turned to avoid her look of outrage.
"I am not old! Never call a woman old!" She snapped at him.
"Then you get your hearing checked; it's not good for a saint's hearing to fail her." Sunny smiled playfully.
"It is also not good for a master to be in denial of his fears." She scoffed.
"I don't fear anything, one of the things I do is fear nothing." Sunny gave a lazy smile.
"I'm not going to pretend to understand what you meant by that." She shook her head.
'Hopefully you'll never have to.'
"I want to plan a beach party, that is why I asked that question."
"A beach party? You are a saint, and you want to have a beach party?" Sunny raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, I am still human after all. Is it wrong to take pleasure in the simple things again?"
"No, I suppose it's not. I've just never thought of it. What about it?" He asked.
"I want you to join." She told him bluntly.
"Me?"
"Yes, you haven't relaxed in years, so I am giving you a chance to, and I will not take no or any excuse for an answer." She started to circle him.
"Alright." Sunny gave in; there was no point in arguing.
"Good!" She patted his arm, her hand lingering on him for a moment longer than necessary, then retracted it.
"So when is it?"
"Tomorrow." She began to walk off.
Sunny stood there in silence, watching her figure walk into the night.
'What?!'