I am sorry my lovely jubbly fans, I would say what happened but it's very personal
All I'll say is that some uhh... eliminations has happened
But that won't stop the great neph to write more
This stupid laptop making all my letters capitalised like come on
The sonorous silver bell rang, notifying an aspiring customer had arrived. Whether they were here to relish in a nice meal, or to purchase one of Sunny's fine memories, it didn't matter.
The morning light filtered in through the front windows of the Brilliant Emporium, casting warm, golden rays across the brick walls and wooden beams of the cozy cafe.
Sunny moved behind the counter with practiced ease, setting a plate down in front of the day's most persistent visitor.
With a record of 4 hours, this angel had been sitting in a chair, watching the young master with delight. Her gaze constantly traveled, his sharp features, his slim build, his hair, the cake.
"Fourth slice," he said, raising an eyebrow as he placed the fork beside it.
With a hint of concern in his voice, he asked. "Are you actually enjoying it, or are you just trying to bankrupt me through cake?"
Nephis didn't look up. She simply picked up the fork, wordlessly taking a bite with that same unreadable expression she always wore.
Sunny crossed his arms and leaned against the counter, watching her carefully chew.
'...Does she think my cake tastes bland?'
...
'No, you make the best cakes and waffles, Sunny.' That heart-wrenching thought had passed him, but he quickly dismissed it as it felt like absolute blasphemy to him.
Someone better then him at making waffles and cakes? There is, and will never be, no one in two worlds who will make better food for him.
What slightly brought Sunny on his edge was Nephis's reaction. She looked at the food as if it had tasted dry, or it was horrible to not even show a change in reaction.
'I have the [Master Chef] Attribute for a reason. I should be making food on par with gods..'
He glanced at her again, studying her expression. There really was no expression on that dull but breathtakingly beautiful face.
"...Right," he muttered. "That's what I thought."
He returned to wiping a few glasses, though his attention never fully left her. Over the last week, she'd been visiting more often. Not every day. But enough that he noticed. Enough that he wondered.
He had a lingering thought that maybe, just maybe, she had come to see him. He didn't want to act all high and noble and self righteous to think that, but the evidence did link together.
And she always ordered the same thing.
The cake.
He wasn't even sure she liked sweets.
Changing Star, the Saint of the Immortal Flame Clan, sitting down on a random shop in Bastion, helping herself to a nice cake.
To pass the time, he opened his runes.
Name: Sunless
True Name: Lost From Light
Rank: Transcendent
Class: Terror
Shadow Cores: [6/7]
Shadow Fragments: [3259/6000]
(so, deciding on what his shadow fragments was was gonna be a bit weird. If you do remember, his [Fated] attribute only brings fortune to him, not misfortune so i was like why not just make him a lil stronger then before? this could mean a lot of things, but I'll explain it later. Also just chose a random number so don't kill me)
The past couple of days had been quite hectic.
The cohort had managed to know that the Lord of Shadows was Sunny. Though, it did seem obvious, it still shocked Sunny. A lot of more people had come to see him aswell.
To explain it simply, the strings that had been intertwined and greatly affected Sunless's life had seen through his whole life up to that. And the ones who's string wasn't so tightly attached to his only remembered him.
He had caught onto this quite early, though his mind was in a hectic state. He particularly didn't want people like Mordredt going through his memories.
'Speaking of Mordret, where is he?' He would have expected for him to greet Sunny, but I guess that conversation's been limited ever since he avoided mirrors.
Also, thanks to the [Fated] attribute, his luck significantly improved in almost all ways, and in this case nightmare creatures.
When he fought, he had come across the monsters that was the perfect rank for him, and most of them were severely weakened. It had been a shadow fragment farm if you can call it that.
The [Master Chef] and [Charm] had explained a lot, obviously. He didn't want to go too into it, as it would slightly annoy him.
The Silver Bell rang again, dismissing him of his thoughts.
Sunny glanced up just in time to see one of the regular girls stroll in.
It was the regulars who frequented the café whenever they had the chance. They always giggled too much, stayed too long, and tipped generously.
A tick slightly let off in his head, but he made sure not to show it.
This one had a confident smile as she approached the counter.
Instead of sitting with her usual friends, she dropped into the bar stool right in front of him, propping her chin on her hand as she leaned in.
"Hey, Master Sunless," she said, voice playful. "You look extra good today. New shirt?"
'...New shirt?'
He blinked slowly. "It's the same one I wore yesterday."
She gave a mock pout. "Must just be you then.. Mysterious. Handsome. A little brooding…"
A grimace look almost shot in his face, before pushing it back down internally. He simply smiled, hoping this conversation would be over.
In the far corner of the café, a fork paused halfway to Nephis's mouth.
'Hah.. was it always this hot in Bastion?'
Sunny raised an eyebrow but didn't miss the subtle shift in temperature around the room.
It was already warm, but now, It was starting to feel… hot. Oppressively so.
The girl tilted her head, clearly trying to catch his attention. It didn't seem like the heat had caught up to her yet. "Sooo, you free later? Maybe you could show me how you make that cake?"
The temperature spiked.
Sunny, now very aware of the heat crawling down the back of his neck, turned his gaze ever so slightly to the corner.
Nephis was still sitting there, her expression unchanged.
But the air around her shimmered faintly.
He sighed.
'Here we go again.'