A lonely Shadow

The air around Sunny's home grew tense as he watched a PTV arrive hastily in front of his home. He knew exactly why it was there, yet he still found himself quite reluctant to involve himself with the great clans so early on. However, he had a goal he was attempting to reach, and mere reluctance wasn't going to stop him.

Slowly making his way out of his home, Sunny adjusted his black tie awkwardly as he made his way into the PTV which was being driven by Kai. Sunny's eyes scanned around the vehicle, taking note of Nephis white dress which was...appealing to the eye to say the least.

Regardless of Sunny's single-minded hatred for the two women, he couldn't deny that he had found himself surrounded by absolute beauties in the form of Cassie and Nephis. Maybe that ethereal appearance that Nephis gave off served to fuel his hatred even more so, he wouldn't know.

Effie's voice tore him out of his thoughts as Sunny turned his attention to her, she was seated wearing a sparkling yellow dress that only served to compliment her eyes and enhance her beauty. "This is the first time I'm seeing you in formal wear, but what's with the tight clothing doofus?"

All the eyes in the back of the PTV slowly directed their attention towards Sunny's abdominal region, which appeared even more defined from his seated position. Nephis quickly took her eyes away from him, staring out of the PTV hoping her mask of indifference held. Effie's expression caused Sunny to feel like collapsing inwards as he silently took solace in Cassie's blindness.

"Someone close to me picked out the shirt, I've never been to a ball you know!" Sunny exclaimed, burying his forehead into his arms as he attempted to fight back an embarrassed blush. The look on Effie's face only promised years of teasing, and suddenly, Sunny found himself considering if running to the venue was more appropriate.

After thirty minutes of nonstop verbal torture at the hands of Effie, Sunny found solace in the PTV slowly coming to a stop. Pushing open the door, Sunny slowly made his way into the hall as he took in the radiant display of colours that were being emitted from the chandelier above.

The rays of light casted shadows of many different shapes and sizes, the sight of them caused a small smile to settle itself on Sunny's features as he played with them absentmindedly upon finding himself in the corner of the room.

He was sure that he wasn't here for a social affair, yet everyone else in the hall seemed to be finding immense pleasure from a strange array of movements that they either did alone or with a partner. Their movements ranged in quality, some were graceful, others struggled to remain on their feet after a dozen movements.

Yet, the smiles plastered upon their faces seemed so genuine it puzzled Sunny.

Nephis voice dragged him out from his musing, her voice was tinged with slight amusement surely having noticed the confused expression on his face. "They're dancing, people do it for fun all the time." Sunny cocked his head to the side, his confusion only deepening.

"I don't understand how something this mundane can be fun, is there some essence that I'm failing to discern?" he replied, Nephis shook her head with an exasperated expression before taking Sunny's hand in her own and pulling him towards the dance floor.

"I never said I wanted to dance!" Sunny exclaimed, as he weakly attempted to resist Nephis pull. Despite his malice, Sunny still found himself quite intrigued by the idea of dancing. Such movements vaguely resembled that which he had seen his mother do on one occasion, however the skill disparity between the two made it feel almost foreign.

Nephis glanced back to him before allowing a slight grin to overwhelm her usually expressionless features. "I know! I just don't care!" she exclaimed in response, as they moved to the dance floor, Nephis guided Sunny's arm around her waist before wrapping her own arm around his.

She led the dance with utmost grace, Sunny initially struggled to keep pace with her movements but quickly became attuned to them. Leaning forward, Sunny whispered in a confused tone "Is it wise to dance with someone who plans to kill you?" he asked, Nephis expression didn't even falter as she their movements continued, remaining highly poised and fluid.

"It doesn't matter right now, just focus on me. I told you I wanted you to be happy before, right? Ignore the fact that it's me you're dancing with, just dance!" The words knocked the wind out of Sunny as Nephis sped up, his eyes remained fixed on hers as they continued their rapid movements around the dance floor.

Moments like these made Sunny forget he hated her, the fact something so beautiful had the capacity to be so odious and vile always succeeded in breaking his mind.

Soon enough, their movements slowed. Both exchanged slight pants of effort as their eyes remained locked on one another, however before either could utter a word, Morgan's voice pierced through the ballroom.

"Welcome esteemed guests, as you know, today we'll be hosting two potential candidates to become members of clan Valor. These aren't your ordinary guests as you have clearly seen from their exquisite dancing, in fact, both are possessors of divine aspects!"

Morgan's last statement made Sunny and Nephis exchange a look of shock. Sunny's eyes sharpened upon locking eyes with Morgan, as her vermillion eyes met his with equal vigour. How she had known this remained a mystery to him, from Nephis reaction he doubted that she had known Morgan had access to that information either.

"Please have a round of applause for Changing Star from the immortal flame clan, and Sunless the youngest master!" Sunny's brewing verbal onslaught was drowned out by a tsunami of noise. All eyes were on the two of them, peering deep into their souls as they weighed them up as potential allies or even enemies.

Sunny was sure that at least two Saints were in the crowd, making fighting impossible lest he wanted to make his way into an early grave. Killing a Saint as a master wasn't one of his immediate goals, although it was a long term one. But he knew as well as anyone that his strength was too shallow to compare to such monsters, hence he remained silent.

Morgan's voice continued to radiate throughout the ballroom, her tone was sharpened like a toned blade cutting through the murmurs of the crowd and commanding their attention. "If you'd like, let's hear a few words from the master who we know the least about! It's said he survived two years in the dream realm alone and conquered the second nightmare without needing a cohort!"

The praise was entirely superficial, Morgan was simply studying how he would respond upon such information being divulged to an audience and Sunny wasn't going to give her the solace of a reaction. His face remained impassive as he leapt up to the podium which Morgan stood on, he watched her slink to the side as he gazed down upon the crowd beneath him.

Blinding lights slammed against his eyes as he attempted to resist the urge to squint, he knew what he wanted to do, and now it was only a matter of putting his thoughts into actions. Fiddling with the microphone for a few seconds, Sunny took in a deep breathe before speaking.

"Greetings, as said by Morgan my name is Sunless. Compared to Changing Star, my competence seems quite dubious so I understand why many of you may be sceptical of my skill level and trust me your suspicions are not entirely unfounded!"

Glancing to his side, he saw Morgan standing next to him with a trained fake smile plastered across her face. 'Nephis could learn something from her' he thought to himself before turning to face the crowd once more.

"And so, to display my competence to the highly regarded guests of this ballroom. I shall bet my allegiance to Clan Valor on a simple test of strength! If Morgan of Valor can defeat me in unarmed combat, my servitude to Clan Valor will never falter!"

Although Sunny wasn't planning on fighting Morgan initially, the presence she exuded was an offer he could refuse. Each part of her body had been honed into a deadly weapon waiting to be unleashed on any foe that the king of swords willed it to.

Sunny saw Morgan's smile falter as he shot her a sly grin, Nephis eyes widened at his statement, she wished she could jump up there and drag Sunny away from the prying eyes of the scum she wished to destroy, but she knew Sunny would kill her if she tried anything like that.

Kai and Effie stared at each other with wide eyes, they were so stunned by Sunny's challenge that Effie almost dropped the cup of wine she had held in her hands. Excitement grew from a subtle force that emanated throughout the souls of the people to an immense flame which drowned out everything else.

Cheers roared throughout the crowd as Sunny's name was chanted. 'The descendants of the war God were truly proving their heritage' Sunny mused to himself before Morgan tapped him on the shoulder, indicating he should step away from the microphone for a moment.

"Well, since our honoured guest has requested it so politely. How dare I refuse his challenge."