Continuing Friendships

As I slept, I suddenly felt my body be forcefully taken, which made me wake up instantly. I looked through Sunny's eyes and noticed that I was no longer in control of his body.

[What gives?]

Sunny stood up from the bed and stretched his arms before replying.

(It's morning, your time in my body ran out.)

That did make sense, but still, why was he so stingy? I sighed internally and absentmindedly looked at the top of the wardrobe, where my raven was still peacefully sleeping.

[Could you just give me control for a bit? I want to do something real quick. It'll only be five minutes.]

(Fine, but I'll take those five minutes off your two hours at noon.)

I grumbled and, after a few seconds, took control over his body again. I sent a mental note to the raven, and it fluttered its eyes open and looked directly at me.

I raised my arm, and the raven followed my commands, perching atop it. Focusing, I created a new ability.

Ability Name: Cloak of Emptiness

Description:The user can make anything living and non-living invisible, anything made invisible by the user will only be able to be seen by the user and no one else, if a living lifeform is made invisible that living being would also become undetectable by any means, the user can turn anything they made invisible back to being visible.

After being satisfied with the ability, I went to the wardrobe and commanded the raven to perch on my shoulder.

I then opened the wardrobe and looked at the shirts inside—a couple of black shirts and white ones with pants.

Not caring too much about them, I took one out and looked it over.

[Mind if I rip off a bit of this one? I need it to mark this raven.]

Sunny seemed somewhat confused but allowed me to do so. I then ripped off the sleeves and put the shirt back.

Commanding the raven, it perched itself on my stretched-out hand. I tied the ripped piece of cloth around its neck and smiled at it.

"Your name is Alisto. You are to search for any suspicious activity and report to me. Also, if the other person I'm sharing this body with gives you a command, you are to follow it. Got it?"

Alisto happily cawed and nodded its head.

I then used [Cloak of Emptiness] to make Alisto invisible, letting it fly outside the window.

Next, I created five more ravens, giving them the same commands I did to Alisto and making them invisible.

I happily looked at their forms flying outside the window and then gave back control to Sunny.

Sunny stretched, adjusting to being back in control. (That was interesting. Why so many ravens?)

[They'll be our eyes and ears around the academy. Better to have multiple scouts than just one.]

Sunny nodded, looking out the window where the ravens had disappeared. (Makes sense. I just hope no one else can see them.)

[With the spell i casted, they should be undetectable. We're covered.]

(Alright then. Let's get moving. We've got a busy day ahead.)

With that being finished, Sunny made his way outside the room and headed for his course.

It took him a bit, and after he searched with his shadow, he found the right classroom.

Opening the door to the room, he saw an older man with messy grey hair, absentminded eyes, and a pair of bushy eyebrows that seemed to jump around on their own.

The man in front of them looked back and saw Sunny. This was probably one of my favorite characters, even though he wasn't seen as much as he should have been.

It was none other than Teacher Julius. Julius scrutinized Sunny for a moment before a small smile graced his face.

"Ahh, sleeper sunless, welcome to the Wilderness Survival Class."

Sunny looked around and frowned. "The pleasure is mine, but did I come early by chance? There seems to be no one else here."

Teacher Julius shook his head with a frown before huffing out a response. "Well, you're actually the only person that took this class."

"Oh, but a Master actually recommended this class to me."

Teacher Julius seemed surprised at this before tilting his head. "A Master? Which one exactly was it?"

"It was Master Jet."

Teacher Julius seemed surprised before a sheepish grin plastered his face and a chuckle left his mouth. "The Soul Reaper, that master. I guess I should give her more credit than before."

(Soul Reaper? Is that a title or something?)

[As happy as I am that you're relying on me so much, I'm not an encyclopedia. And to answer your question, she's called that because her attacks deal soul damage. Even saints are scared of fighting her.]

Sunny's eyes widened slightly. (Wow, no wonder she seemed so intense.)

Teacher Julius clapped his hands together, bringing Sunny's attention back to him. "Alright, which classes are you taking? I'll need to know in order to plan for all our lessons."

Sunny hesitated for a moment.

[Just tell him that you're only taking this class, although that might change if I find something interesting. Also, make sure to ask him to first teach you how to swim, cook crab meat, and climb. I expect you to be comparable to an Olympic swimmer by the end of this first lesson. Also, make sure to tell him that you'll need a break to eat.]

Taking a deep breath, Sunny replied, "I'm only taking this class for now, though that might change later. Could we start with learning how to swim, cook crab meat, and climb? And, um, I'll need a break to eat at some point."

Teacher Julius raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. "Swimming, cooking crab meat, and climbing, huh? That's an interesting combination. Alright then, we'll start with swimming. Follow me to the academy's pool."

Sunny and I reached the pool, where he spent a few hours learning to swim. By the end, he had become quite adept.

Next, we headed to the classroom, where Teacher Julius demonstrated how to cook crab meat. After that, he instructed Sunny on climbing both rugged and smoother surfaces.

Surprisingly, I found myself enjoying the lesson. It lasted five hours, and by the end, I could feel Sunny's exhaustion.

Teacher Julius noticed too and apologized for getting carried away. He allowed Sunny to take a break, which coincided with lunchtime.

Sunny had missed breakfast and was starving, and I felt similarly famished.

[You did well. I was pretty impressed—only after you stopped panicking on your first dive, of course.]

(Don't even mention that. I hated every moment of it. I can't wait to eat my fill.)

Sunny moved up in the line and began filling his tray. As he did, I noticed Cassie sitting alone at one of the furthest tables, looking forlorn.

Nephis was also alone, listening to music through her headphones with an entire table to herself, seemingly ignored by everyone.

'It's like she's asking to be annoyed by me,' I thought.

[Go to Cassie's table. Also, give me control. If you do, I can get us connections with two of the most important people here.]

(You already overused your time, though. What do I get out of it?)

[You get the benefit of knowing the great Changing Star of the Immortal Flame Clan, the last member of it as well. She's basically royalty.]

(… Then why is she in a place like this?)

[Her clan fell apart when her father, Broken Sword, was betrayed by his cohort and killed. Slowly, her entire clan disbanded, and now she's the only one left.]

Feeling a bit of pity from Sunny, I sighed inwardly. It truly was tragic, but such was the nature of their world. There was no way around it.

Sunny made his way to Cassie's table and sat down. Cassie looked up, startled, and for a moment, fear flashed in her eyes before she composed herself. Sunny, sensing her apprehension, spoke softly.

"Hey, Cassie. Do you mind if I sit here?"

Cassie seemed surprised by Sunny's presence, her expression grew a little paler. She tensed for a moment before relaxing and spoke softly.

"Hello, Sunless."

[Gimme control.]

(Don't do anything stupid.)

After a few awkward seconds of silence, I took control, quickly adjusting to the body before cheerfully looking at her.

"Do you mind if I invite my favorite friend to sit with us?"

Seemingly confused, she tilted her head. "Favorite friend?"

"But of course, she's the first friend I made here. Don't worry though, you are my second favorite friend."

I cheekily smiled, and after a moment of confusion, she let out a giggle. "Well, do I have to be the second favorite?"

"But of course, you're the second person I met. Don't worry though, you're not far behind."

She chuckled and nodded her head. Excitedly, I stood up and made my way to Nephis's table.

[Watch this, Sunny. I'm gonna eat her alive.]

(Is that a figure of speech or are you serious?)

I smirked and let out a chuckle. [You've gotten more comfortable with me, huh?]

I could feel Sunny's embarrassment, and he decided not to speak. 'He is adorable. No wonder Effie wanted to gobble him up.'

I reached Nephis's table and stood before her. She noticed me and gave a confused look.

"Hey, Neph, come sit with me and another friend of mine."

"No."

My smile didn't waver for a second. I guessed that Sunny's previous actions were being talked about, so her response was expected.

"Naahh, you do."

"Huh?"

She was confused, and I took the opportunity to press further.

"You must spend time with your friend. You'll make a second friend as well."

She frowned. "I barely know you."

"Oh, well, that's even more reason to join me and my friend. Come on, I won't stop pestering you."

She sighed, clearly conflicted. "Why are you so insistent?"

I leaned in slightly, my smile unwavering. "Because everyone needs friends, even you, Nephis. Besides, who could resist my charm?"

She still seemed confused but sighed in the end. "Fine, but just this once."

I beamed and led her back to Cassie's table. Cassie looked surprised but smiled as we approached.

Nephis sat next to cassie and i sat in front of them.

"Hey, Cassie, this is Nephis. Nephis, this is Cassie."

Cassie nodded in greeting. "Nice to meet you, Nephis."

Nephis gave a small nod in return. "Likewise."

I sat down with a satisfied grin. "Great, now we're all friends."

Taking a bite of the meat on my tray i gave the two a dubious smile.

"Do you guys wanna hear about the tale of the Forgotten Shore" i said and the tow gave me a confused look.

Taking their silence as a yes i began to speak.

[You listen up too, Sunny. I'm not gonna retell this again.]

(Alright.)

"The Forgotten Shore was initially a beautiful land bathed in sunlight. Lush forests, glistening rivers, and fields of flowers surrounded human cities built of stone. The beautiful land rested under the sky that was full of stars. Suddenly, one of them fell to the ground, causing a wave of destruction to wash over the human cities.

When people approached the center of the crater left behind by the falling star, a naked human figure was standing at the bottom of the crater, wreathed in light. The inhabitants of the stone cities were surrounding the radiant figure, dressed in archaic garments and armor.

The figure seemed beautiful and pure, as though untouched by the imperfections of the mundane world. On the figure's face, three eyes were burning with pure, incandescent light. Two were just like that of a human, with the third one situated above the other ones, right in the middle of the creature's forehead."

Finishing with that, i took on a more cryptic smile and made my tone sound more sinister.

"For some unknown reason, the humans attacked the figure. The figure's chest was pierced by the spear of the tallest human among the inhabitants. What flowed from the terrible wound, however, was not blood, but an endless flood of pure darkness.

The darkness devoured the humans gathered around the fatally wounded creature and spread. Soon, it devoured the crater left by the fallen star and then, devoured the entire world. It was the curse of all-consuming darkness."

As i finished, i waited for any questions, and Cassie was the first to speak.

"What happened after?"

Smiling to myself i continued.

"As the darkness spread across the world, it reached the skies. The stars were either devoured by it or fell down, turning the sky into a terrible, lightless abyss, the starless void. The sun never rose above the cursed land again, leaving humans trembling in the cold. Soon, horrifying creatures came from the darkness to devour them.

The best and the brightest of the ancient civilization took arms to defend their cities, and for a while, they were able to resist the tide of monsters. Seven heroes came together from different parts of the dark land and under their protection and guidance, the people living in the darkness migrated from their half-destroyed cities to the shore of the vast crater. There, they built a new home for themselves, surrounded by a mighty wall that no monster could scale or breach."

Taking a sip of water and a bite of the now cold meat.

"Then they finished the mighty wall, and the city was prospering amidst the darkness. The seven heroes stood at some distance from it, surrounding an inconceivably tall tower. It loomed above them, connecting heaven and earth like the axis of the world.

Despite its cyclopean height, the tower was still unfinished. It was the Crimson Spire, only it was not crimson yet, as there were no growths of cursed coral covering its walls. Soon the tower was complete, and on top of it, a new sun was burning bright, bathing the land and the celebrating people in the light once again. The darkness was gone."

I continued, recounting the fate of the people, the sacrifices to the Crimson Terror, and the eventual demise of the heroes. Everyone had questions, including Sunny himself.

Happily answering their inquiries, they all seemed satisfied as they finished their meal. I then made my way outside the cafeteria and bid the two girls farewell.

(Was that whole story true?)

I snickered and didn't respond.

He would find out eventually.