Sunny's POV
After leaving his shadow to guard Cassie's room, Sunny hit the bed, wrapped himself in a blanket, and tried to get some sleep.
It had been months since he'd last slept without fearing for his life.
"This... isn't bad," he muttered.
And just like that, he drifted off.
By morning, after washing up, he made his way to Cassie's room. She was already waiting, bright and eager.
"Shall we head down?" he asked.
Cassie turned her head toward his voice and beamed. "Let's go eat!"
Both of them were in a surprisingly good mood. Navigating through the castle's halls, they carefully avoided the areas marked by the coiled serpent—just as they had been warned.
As they entered the mess hall, a wave of silence followed them. All eyes turned—not toward Sunny, but to Cassie. She seemed to captivate the entire room just by standing there.
Sunny stayed close to her, leading her to a table before grabbing two plates of monster meat stew. Settling in, they began chatting quietly, almost lightheartedly.
From his shadow, Sunny noticed two burly men approaching, excitement and something worse in their eyes.
"Here we go," he sighed.
Solaire's POV
"Alright. Meet Sunny, grab something to eat, go hunt, and let's see what happens when my Humanity hits 100," Solaire muttered under his breath as he left his room.
He was heading down to the mess when he noticed a commotion. Sunny and the blonde girl were facing off with a couple of Gunlaug's men. Solaire hesitated.
"Should I step in?"
Before he could decide, Caster arrived and defused the situation with practiced ease.
Well, that was that. He missed the timing to help, but it didn't stop him from walking up to their table, stew in hand.
"It's good to know I was wrong," Caster was saying. "If Lady Nephis was with you… that explains how you survived. But that makes four of us who made it out of the Forgotten Shore this year."
Sunny glanced up and noticed Solaire approaching.
"Well… looks like you're wrong, Caster. That makes five," he said, smirking.
Caster turned, brows raised.
"And you are…?"
Solaire blinked, slightly taken aback that Caster didn't recognize him.
‒ [My name is Solaire. I was with you guys at the Academy.] ‒
Caster's expression turned sheepish. "Ah! My apologies. I guess… you didn't quite catch my eye back then."
Sunny stifled a laugh, clearly enjoying the moment.
‒ [It's alright. I didn't interact much with others. Sunny's the only one I really knew.] ‒
Cassie tilted her head. "Sunny… who are you talking to?"
Sunny glanced between her and Solaire. Something about the situation made his grin widen.
"Ah, Cassie, meet Solaire. Solaire—this is Cassie."
Cassie smiled warmly. "Hello, Solaire. It's nice to meet you. I don't think we've met before."
Silence.
Cassie's smile wavered, just a bit. She stammered, unsure.
Sunny finally burst into laughter. Even Caster was struggling not to grin.
Wiping his eyes, Sunny explained, "I probably should've mentioned… Cassie's blind. And Solaire can't speak."
Then, looking to Solaire, he added, "By the way, he said 'Nice to meet you too, Lady Cassia.'"
Cassie's cheeks flushed pink. She playfully punched Sunny's shoulder. "Sunny! Stop teasing me. I'm sorry, Solaire. I didn't know. And please—just call me Cassie. We're probably the same age."
‒ [Alright, Cassie. Anyway, Sunny—where have you all been this whole time?] ‒
Sunny's expression darkened slightly.
"It's a long story. I'll tell you another time. For now, let's just say… we got dropped into the Labyrinth."
Caster turned to Solaire. "How have you been staying at the castle? I've been working with Gunlaug's hunters just to survive."
Both Sunny and Cassie looked at Solaire with curiosity.
‒ [My Aspect makes it easier to hunt. I also got lucky with an Echo—it helps a lot. I usually spend days tracking a creature before going for the kill. It's not easy, but I've managed.] ‒
Solaire looked away, slightly uncomfortable.
Caster nodded. "Still… well done. It's no small feat making it this far."
Sunny relayed Solaire's explanation to Cassie, who nodded in agreement.
Caster then turned serious.
"As for those two guards… they might try something on their own, but there won't be any official response from the Host. Still, don't push your luck."
He leaned in, lowering his voice.
"If it had been a Hunter—or worse, a Pathfinder—you'd already be dead. Not even I could have stopped that."
With that grim warning, Caster gave them a polite nod and walked away.
Cassie turned to Solaire. "So… what's next for you?"
Sunny looked up, curious too.
‒ [I'm heading out for a hunt. I've been tracking a creature nearby.] ‒
"Alone?" Sunny asked.
‒ [It's just an Awakened beast. Doesn't seem very smart.] ‒
Getting up Sunny replied, "Well then, have a good hunt out there"
He helped Cassie up, and they both started heading toward the Tower of Dusk.
She leaned in and whispered, "Sunny, Sunny! What did he say?!"
Solaire left the castle behind, summoning Bleeder as he slipped into the familiar route he'd mapped out over months of hunting.
"Let's go, Bleeder. Time to hunt."
The Echo barked once and bounded forward.
The route avoided most of the larger, deadlier Fallen creatures. His target? Rats. Not figuratively—he meant literal giant rats. Ugly, vicious, and perfect.
He found three of them feasting on a corpse.
"They never disappoint," he muttered. They almost always gave him humanity. His theory? Simple—since rats fed on the remains of nightmare creatures, the lingering essence might condensed boosting the humanity they possessed.
Bleeder rushed in, nipping at their heels and raking at their faces. The three rats shrieked and lunged, all attention on the hound.
They never saw Solaire coming.
In one fluid motion, he stabbed the first, spun, and slashed at the second. One dead, one wounded. The third was engaged with Bleeder.
The injured rat lunged at him, jaws wide. Solaire ducked low, slid beneath it, and drove his blade up through its belly.
A spray of black blood hit his face.
"Ptooey! Gah, disgusting…" He wiped his face against his armor, grimacing.
Humanity: [100/100]
He pulled the shards from their corpses and returned to his stash—a hidden pit nestled between two roots. He dropped the shards in, joining over a hundred others.
"104 Awakened shards, two Fallen," he counted.
Satisfied, he made his way back to the castle, locked himself in his room, and slipped into his soul sea.
Inside, he found a spiral of glowing sprites—100 in total—circling the kiln.
"…Bloody hell," he whispered. "This is crazy."