The next few weeks followed the same routine, the two woke up at the same time, with Jet going to solve problems related to awakened people in the government, while Sunny spent the day training her body and shadow dancing. Of course, the legacy wouldn't be unlocked until he received his aspect, but preparing the body for wear and tear was very important. But there was something more important in this day.
The winter solstice had come.
In the city of NQSC, the sky was a dull slate, heavy with clouds that refused to snow. The air itself seemed to hold its breath. Streets were quieter than usual, not empty, but subdued. Conversations were softer, movements slower. Even the lights in the windows felt dimmer, as though the city itself was mourning in advance. This was the day the Sleepers closed their eyes.
All across the city, those infected by the spell prepared for the journey into the dream realm. Some did so in silence, others would receive the final blessings from loved ones, just to all of them end laying down in their pods.
Everyone knew the truth, most of them would not return.
Each year, Sleepers vanished into the depths of the dream, never waking again. Their bodies remained untouched, still and pale, but their souls were lost, claimed by something sometimes vast and unknowable.
And so, as the last daylight slipped away and the moment drew near, the city seemed to pause. Even the wind held still. From houses to the academy, the Sleepers began to drift away, eyes closing, breath slowing, slipping into a place beyond the reach of the waking world.
There were no cheers. No ceremonies.
Only a quiet, heavy respect. And hope, however fragile, that this time... maybe more would return.
***
As the world dealt with the solstice, Sunless reached out to Jet, with people's focus on their farewells, there would be less chance of questions being raised about the mysterious boy entering the dream realm alongside a Saint.
They had arrived at a manor unlike any Sunless had seen before.
The estate rose like a fever dream of elegance and eccentricity. The garden was a riot of colors, orchids and glowing lilies tangled in carefully chaotic arrangements, their petals shaped like twisting flames. Sculptures stood at odd angles in the grass: a silver phoenix with seven wings, a headless dancer frozen mid-spin, a staircase that curled into itself without beginning or end.
The manor itself was tall and narrow, with shimmering silk banners fluttering from every window, their patterns constantly shifting, today swirling between peacock feathers and storm clouds. The architecture defied simplicity, with arches that led nowhere and balconies supported by nothing but illusions, as if they were within the stereotype of what dreams are.
Sunny frowned.
"This place looks like a gallery had a nervous breakdown."
Jet grinned. "That's just his charm. Wait until he talks."
They walked through the open doors into a hallway drenched in incense and moonlight colored wallpaper. Somewhere, a harp was being played in reverse.
As they approached a mirrored parlor, the Transcendent emerged as though he had been painted into existence.
Thane stood before them, draped in layers of silk so vividly colored it hurt to look at them for too long, crimson, emerald, sapphire, and gold all competing for attention. His face was impossibly beautiful, though obscured beneath thick, theatrical makeup, powdered cheeks, jeweled eyelids, and lips painted in two mismatched shades. He looked like a caricature who had lost a bet.
"Ascended Jet" Thane purred, his voice was soft and ambiguous. "That's the stray you made time for? "
Sunny blinked, unsure whether to be insulted or impressed.
"Drop the act, Thane" Jet replied, her tone casual but edged. "You already agreed to the favor, and it's not like your fashionista ass is busy today, or any other day."
Thane's eyes drifted to Sunny.
"I suppose... You want to smuggle this one into the Dream while the city weeps, I could say that this is a bit sordid even for you, Soul Reaper."
"Why? The world is cruel enough, and if they have someone dear enough to fear for, that's privilege enough."
Thane sighed dramatically, and then his figure seemed to detach itself from the life it had demonstrated before, little by little the figure of the transcendent in front of them was lost in the air. The androgynous Saint voice now came from the left, along with the pressure of his touch on Sunny's shoulder.
"Let's finish this quickly then, you tasteless pup."
The interactions with the Transcendent left Sunny shaken, after all it was the first time he was criticized directly in his form of expression, rather than opportunities or physical beauty.
'This pompous clown, I can't forget to... to do something about this in the future? Damn, how am I supposed to shock a madman like this?' The world then ceased.
A new landscape stretched before them, rolling green hills under a soft sky, grass thick and vibrant beneath his feet. It was quiet here, the kind of quiet that made the world feel untouched. A few distant figures moved along unpaved paths, but the area was sparsely populated. Judging by the terrain, it couldn't have been far from Bastion.
Thane had reconfigured his connection to the gateway only days earlier, being one of the few Saints in the world allowed him to ignore the need for trivial explanations, and from his personal history, random requests were nothing new.
The houses here were built from the native trees, their architecture simple but sturdy, blending into the environment rather than imposing on it. The territory belonged to a minor clan allied with Valor, however, its representatives were not present at the time.
For Sunny, stepping into the Dream Realm as a mundane stirred something half-forgotten, nostalgia laced with unease. The air carried a strange stillness, different from the toxic haze of the outskirts and the sterilized filtration systems of the city. This was something older. Wilder.
Maybe, he thought, after the Forgotten Shore, he'd take time to explore more places like this. The Seed of Hope's Kingdom wasn't going anywhere, and without Cassie's plans, the islands no longer held the same importance.
Their time in the Dream Realm came to a quiet end though, not with ritual or ceremony, but with a flutter of silk and the faint smell of roses. Thane raised one delicate hand, adorned with rings and made a graceful sweeping motion through the air, and in the blink of an eye, they were no longer standing in the surreal vastness of the realm.
Looking around the mirrored room, Jet was looking at him the same way as before, Thane was gone, of course, too bright, too loud, and far too important to linger in a place like this. He had vanished between one blink and the next, leaving behind only a faint trace of perfume.
***
In a well-to-do district, where the streets were clean and the buildings carried quiet pride, a class of about thirty teenagers moved in unison around the perimeter of a sunlit gymnasium. Tall windows near the ceiling flooded the space with soft daylight, casting long shadows that followed them with every lap.
At the center of the hall stood a man who looked like he belonged in a commercial, blond hair neatly trimmed, posture effortless, features sharp and confident smile. He watched the students run with an easy calm, waiting for them to finish their warm-up before beginning the day's lesson.
But even here, the weight of the solstice still lingered.
The atmosphere at the academy had been subdued ever since the longest night of the year. Along the corridors and above the doors, hand-painted plaques had been hung, simple wooden boards inscribed with names. Some were students from the same halls, others older siblings or local figures, all of them honored for surviving their First Nightmare and stepping, perhaps for the last time, into the Dream Realm.
Amidst the sound of pounding footsteps and adolescent chatter, Awakened Roswald's attention shifted. He turned toward the gym's entrance, sensing a new presence before he even saw it.
What he found surprised him.
A boy had entered, moving with the kind of calm that didn't quite belong for someone entering an unknown place full of other youngsters, even more so with the intentions he carried. His dark hair hung unkempt, strands falling to his mouth, his clothes were plain black and loose, they were a marked improvement from the tattered rags he'd worn the day Roswald had first laid eyes on him.
Even now, the boy looked out of place. Not just for his clothes, but for the sharp contrast between his thin, almost wiry frame and the well-conditioned bodies of the White Dove students circling the gym. He didn't walk like someone trying to belong.
The first of the students to notice him was a girl, Charlise, and when she recognized who he was, she stopped her run, causing a chain reaction for everyone else, while some wondered why he had stopped, others had already noticed the boy, and then conversations began to stir.
"There's no way!"
"It really is that boy?"
"What boy? Do you know him?"
One of the boys, with an elongated face and bangs on his forehead, looked directly at another boy with shaved hair next to him.
"No way! Is this really the boy who said he was going to become a saint that day?" He quickly received a weak blow to his shoulder as a warning.
"Shut up Alex! It was Ed who said that, and yes, i think it really is him, talk about confidence, huh."
As the conversation began to heat up, the group seemed to want to approach and talk to the visitor, but their instructor was already in the boy's way.
"Oh hoho! Sunless, look at you! It seems like life has been treating you well."
"It's good to see you again too, Awakened Roswald, but I don't understand why the surprise, I said I would come, and I'm the most honest person in the world after all! Two worlds, even."
Turning to his class, the man highly introduced Sunny, for those who hadn't seen the scene the other day, the class was already more interesting, for those who were there, the entire day had just gotten better.
And without letting the boy's speech be forgotten, Roswald decided to add a new incentive to the class.
"Now listen to me carefully you bunch of weaklings, this kid here told me in so many words that he could finish off any one of you without even needing weapons, not even a leg for that matter!" The boy dressed in black seemed to be startled for a second.
"You are cutting out an important part of the information!"
The young's were now close to the two, forming a half moon so they could hear the conversation and see Sunny, upon hearing the words of their teacher, most of them showed their competitive side, although now, in a school environment, they did not seem to take the threat as such a great disrespect, although their desire had certainly increased with the desire to duel.
"Boooo!"
"This little guy would even lose to Charlise!"
"Let me fight him then sir!"
"Hey! What do you mean "even Charlise" you twat!"
The whistle of the Awakened man made the silence return. Sunless then opened his mouth before Roswald could speak again.
"Apparently this old man here doesn't know how to tell stories well, but that's okay, I don't mind teaching you fools a thing or two." And then, he yawned. "Let's get this started right away, I'm getting tired just looking at your faces." Of course, that wasn't the sole motive.