Sunny had never considered himself the type to grow nervous over sothing as trivial as standing outside a door, yet the quiet expanse of Belobog’s Underworld pressed in on him with an unfamiliar weight. The air carried that faint chill that never quite left the subterranean city, a constant reminder of the frozen world above, but it was not the cold that made him restless. It was anticipation, poorly disguised as irritation, that manifested in the steady, rhythmic tapping of his foot against the worn tal floor.
It had been less than a week since he completed Tingyun’s Clothes, a na that had been t with imdiate and unanimous dissatisfaction. Tingyun herself had gone so far as to call it ’uninspired,’ which Sunny still believed was an unfair assessnt considering how practical it was. A na did not need to be extravagant to be effective, and yet apparently, his Shadows had developed opinions. He chose to ignore them.
That aside, the past several days had not been wasted. If anything, they had been spent in relentless refinent, as he dismantled old enchantnts in his mind and reconstructed them into new forms. The process was inefficient, imperfect, and often frustrating, but it was progress nonetheless. Each mory he crafted brought him closer to understanding the underlying principles that still eluded him, even if he could only grasp fragnts at a ti.
Now, however, none of that mattered.
Because he was standing outside Seele’s door.
And that, for reasons he refused to fully acknowledge, was far more complicated than crafting a Transcendent mory.
Sunny exhaled slowly, dragging a hand down his face as his thoughts spiraled into sothing dangerously close to overanalysis. He understood what this was supposed to be, at least from her perspective. A date. The word itself felt strangely foreign when applied to him, both because he lacked experience in the field, and because it implied a level of mutual understanding that simply did not exist between them.
Seele did not know him.
Not really.
What she knew was a version of him constructed from fragnts — his actions, his competence, the way he carried himself in battle, and the occasional glimpse of sothing resembling sincerity. It was enough to form an impression, enough to spark interest, but it was not enough to form sothing real.
In the end, she hasn’t even scratched the surface of his true self. Would soone as naïve as her be so accepting if she knew how many people he killed just to scrounge up money?
Probably not. Otherwise, he’d have a whole new set of concerns.
"Hey!"
The sound hit him like a physical force.
Sunny did not react with dignity.
He squealed.
It was a sharp, undignified sound that escaped him before he could stop it, his entire body jolting as his head snapped toward the source with a speed that bordered on excessive. For a brief mont, he genuinely looked like soone who had just been caught committing a cri.
What he saw did not help his composure.
Seele stood a few steps away — or rather, Veliona did, if the crimson eyes were anything to go by. The difference was subtle to anyone unfamiliar, but to Sunny, it was unmistakable. There was a certain sharpness to her gaze, a predatory edge that Seele herself lacked, accompanied by an expression that carried just enough amusent to be unsettling.
She gave him a strange look, clearly registering his reaction, before speaking.
"Seele wanted to ask if this looks good."
Sunny blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Then his gaze shifted, and for a mont, his thoughts simply... stopped.
The outfit she wore was striking in a way that was difficult to ignore, even for soone who prided himself on remaining unaffected by most things. It retained the general silhouette of her usual attire but elevated it into sothing far more refined, the design balancing elegance with the inherent sharpness that defined her presence.
Dark hues dominated the ensemble, deep purples and blacks layered together in a way that seed to drink in the dim light of the Underworld, while subtle accents of lighter tones traced along the edges, creating contrast without disrupting the overall cohesion. The fabric itself appeared lighter than expected, flowing naturally with her movents while still maintaining a structured form that emphasized her figure without restricting it.
The upper portion was fitted, contouring along her torso with deliberate precision, while the lower half flared slightly, allowing for mobility without sacrificing style. Detached sleeves frad her arms, their edges adorned with patterns that hinted at sothing almost ornantal, yet never crossing into impracticality. The asymtry of her legs — one clad in darker material, the other left more exposed — added a subtle imbalance that sohow worked in her favor, drawing attention without feeling excessive.
It suited her.
More than that, it enhanced what was already there.
Sunny stared.
His thoughts, which had previously been occupied with logic and dismissal, took a sharp and unfortunate turn into territory that he would later refuse to acknowledge.
There was a brief, entirely unhelpful image of her pinning him to the ground while wearing that exact outfit, her expression sharp and amused as she—
He blinked.
Hard.
Focus returned with effort, though not without leaving behind a faint trace of sothing he chose to ignore.
"I—uh... Yeah. It’s... pretty nice."
There was a pause.
Then, because his brain had decided to betray him further, he added:
"Was I supposed to wear sothing?"
His gaze dropped to his own outfit, as though only now realizing that he had made no effort whatsoever to adjust his appearance for the occasion. The Silent Mist was as it always was, consisting of a sleeveless compression shirt that outlined his build with unnecessary clarity, layered beneath a zipperless denim jacket adorned with a black cloud design. Bandages wrapped around his arms beneath the sleeves, while his lower half was composed of white harem pants, tight leggings, and steel-toed boots, all tied together with a simple utility belt from which several charm mories hung by a steel chain.
’I look like a magical emo...’
Wasn’t that a sobering thought? Maybe he should start rethinking his life decisions.
Veliona shrugged, her attention drifting briefly to his midriff before lingering just long enough to be noticeable.
"She doesn’t care. Give a second."
Before Sunny could question that statent, she raised a finger.
Then she shoved it into her own skull.
Sunny froze.
There was no resistance, no sign of injury, no indication that anything had gone wrong beyond the simple fact that she had just inserted her finger into her head as though it were an entirely normal action. His expression shifted slowly into sothing that hovered between confusion and mild horror as he watched her pull it back out, leaving no trace behind.
Veliona said casually, as though she had just comnted on the weather:
"I just killed Seele’s consciousness."
Then her gaze sharpened, sothing deeper settling into her expression.
"I need you to listen."
Sunny squinted slightly, unease creeping in despite himself.
That tone was different. More careful.
"Yeah? What is it?"
Veliona licked her lips, though there was no playfulness in the gesture this ti.
"I don’t actually know. But I can see it."
Sunny’s unease sharpened.
"See what?"
Her eyes seed to burn a little brighter as she spoke.
"Death is approaching."
That... was not reassuring.
Sunny tilted his head slightly, forcing his expression into sothing neutral despite the way his instincts reacted to her words.
"Is that literal, or...?"
Veliona exhaled softly, as though annoyed by the question, though she answered anyway.
"Death by freezing. Death by darkness. Death by luck. Death by shadows. Death by Destruction. Death by Corruption."
Each phrase was delivered with quiet certainty, as though she were simply reciting sothing that had already been decided.
Then her gaze locked onto him. She added, a faint smile touching her lips.
"Funnily enough, you’re the only one whose Death remains the sa. I’m still the only one to kill you."
Sunny stared at her.
That did not help.
At all.
He exhaled slowly, dragging a hand through his hair as he tried to process what little information she had given him.
"So, what exactly do you expect to do with that?"
Veliona stepped forward before he could react, her hands rising to cup his face, forcing him to et her gaze directly. Her words softened into a silent curse.
"Nothing. If nothing happens, then don’t do anything. Just stay with Seele."
Her grip tightened slightly, her expression growing more intense.
"But if sothing does happen, take her away. By force if you have to. I think we both know she won’t run when things go south."
Sunny hesitated.
Then, slowly, he nodded.
He did not understand.
Not fully.
But he understood enough.
He reached up, intending to remove her hands from his face, but she moved first.
Leaning in.
Pressing her lips briefly against his.
Sunny’s brain stopped.
It was not a long kiss, nor was it particularly forceful, but it was enough to completely derail whatever thoughts he had been forming. By the ti she pulled back, his expression had shifted into sothing bordering on genuine alarm.
"Hey, what are you—"
Veliona smiled, though there was sothing almost sad in it.
"Just in case."
Then she blinked.
And when her eyes opened again, they were violet.
Seele stared at him, one brow raised slightly as she took in his expression.
"What’s up with you? You look like you’ve seen a ghost."
Sunny stared back at her for a long mont.
Then, slowly, he nodded.
"Maybe... maybe I did."
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