Two?!"
"Two Sleepers with True Names?!"
"That's never happened before."
"Herald of Death."
"Changing star ."
A ripple of shock surged through the Sleepers. Their gazes filled with awe, and envy… some even tinged with regret.
"Sunny, what's happening ?"
"Nothing. Just that there's someone else with a True Name now. And since no one but you knows that I have one, that makes two."
"Really? Who is it?"
"A girl named Nephis. Or rather… Changing Star."
Cassie blinked in disbelief. Is someone… comparable to Sunny?
She knew how strong he was—how gifted to the point that even Awakened were left speechless. And she hadn't heard that from him… the instructors themselves had said it. She shared many classes with Sunny. She knew.
Footsteps echoed in the corridor, heading toward Nephis. A group of students approached, led by someone Sunny recognized Well.
It was Caster.
"Lady Nephis, I'm truly glad you survived. Honestly, I can't quite put it into words…"
He paused, waiting for a reply.
"Thank you. Is there something else?"
"Yes."
Caster smiled politely, but there was caution and fear in his eyes.
"Would you mind… telling us what your experience was like?"
"No. I wouldn't."
Her reply was cold.
"Hahaha… oh gods…"
A burst of laughter erupted behind them. Caster and his group turned. Even Nephis tilted her head.
It was the pale boy with black hair like the crow feathers. Sunny—laughing like a maniac.
"Sunny! What are you doing, you idiot?"
Cassie scolded, fumbling for the table and storming toward him. She caught his ear and yanked him out of his seat while he was still laughing.
Caster's jaw clenched. He tried to keep a composed expression, but the corners of his mouth twitched in frustration.
"You think this is funny, my friend? How about we go to the dojo and see if you're worthy of your True Name?"
"Sure, sure." Sunny shrugged, utterly unfazed.
"Just let me finish my food. I've got a little friend here I want to talk to first."
After chatting with Cassie for a bit, Sunny headed for the dojo. Behind him followed Cassie, Nephis, Caster, and his group, along with several curious Sleepers drawn in by the rising tension.
Sunny had orchestrated this.
He'd anticipated Nephis reaction and sparked the flames deliberately. He wanted a new rhythm a fight. One that might help push him toward the second step of the Shadow Dance. He needed a worthy opponent, and now he had two: Nephis… and Caster.
When they reached the dojo, a Sleeper opened the doors for them. Sunny stepped inside, Cassie clutching his sleeve. Caster came next, then Nephis… and the rest followed.
"Listen Hareld of death "
"I don't know how you got a True Name, but I'm going to show you exactly where you stand."
Caster marched toward the training weapons—but Sunny stopped him.
"Hold up, …You want to see my skill, right?"
"Then how about we summon our memories?"
Caster hesitated for a moment… then called forth a long sword befitting someone with a Legacy.
Sunny eyed it carefully.
A dormant weapon.
"Maybe he doesn't want to hurt me… what a joke!. He should worry about himself."
Sunny summoned the serpent, letting it take the shape of a long odachi, its black edge glinting with menace.
"Let's start. Legacy child"
Caster charged without drawing on his Aspect. He lunged forward with a thrust—but the odachi twisted the blow aside into the air.
With fluid precision, Sunny riposted with a slash toward Caster's side, forcing him into a defensive block.
The moment his opponent braced, Sunny yanked the sword back and slammed a heavy overhead strike at Caster's face.
This time, Caster dodged—his movement sharp, reflexes honed.
He reappeared behind Sunny in a blink, blade arcing diagonally.
But what greeted him was the odachi's hilt crashing into his wrist—
—and the pale boy slipping away like a serpent in water.
Sunny never once used his Shadow Enhancement.
He only relied on Shadow Sense, tracking Caster's every movement. And thanks to the shadows, and his innate ability he had the strength of a full-strength sleeper.
In the end, the caster was reduced to a training dummy—Sunny testing technique after technique on him.
Their fight lasted half an hour.
It ended when Sunny bashed the hilt of his sword into Caster's head… and dropped him, unconscious.
Of all the onlookers, only one watched not with fear… but anticipation.
Nephis.
And yet, something within her tightened—a growing sense of caution.
What if he's a hidden killer? What if this was all an act—him and Caster?
The thought passed…
But it never fully left.
It found a place in the corner of her heart.
"Sunless."
Her voice sliced through the charged silence that lingered after Sunny's duel with Caster.
"Fight me."
Nephis summoned [Dreamblade] and stepped onto the platform.
Sunny chuckled internally.
"There she is. She's looking like a killer ."
Outwardly, though, he wore a cautious expression.
"Sunny, break her!"
Cassie called from below—perhaps the only one bold enough to say such a thing about the changing star.
After all… she was the friend of the one Nephis was about to face.
A smile crept onto Sunny's lips.
One name escaped from his mouth as he faced his new opponent:
"Changing star."
Nephis replied without hesitation:
"Herald of Death."
Sunny stood poised, ready to deflect or redirect the first strike.
Nephis, too, held her stance—until the tension cracked.
She pounced, blade held behind, swinging a wide, powerful arc.
The sheer impact made Sunny's arms tremble…
…but only slightly.
He parried the blade and countered, striking at her head again and again—
Each blow blocked until her guard broke just enough for him to kick at her calf and land a blow with the sword's hilt.
But what he met next was a blade so sharp, it forced him to retreat.
Their fight went on like that.
Every weakness Nephis revealed, Sunny exploited.
And when she repeated the same flaw—he punished it.
Teaching her through pain.
Forcing her to evolve.
With every clash, he refined her technique…
Shaping it.pressing it.dragging it closer to perfection.
They fought for two hours.
So long, the other Sleepers forgot time itself. They were captivated.
Even Caster, groaning back to consciousness, grits his teeth as he witnesses changing start skill…
…But what infuriated him more?
That this pale bastard…
Was stronger than both of them.
The battle ended with Sunny's blade at Nephis's throat—
And at the same moment, a deep, commanding voice echoed in his head
[Your mastery of your Aspect Legacy: Shadow Dance has increased.]