Quid Pro Quo

When Cassie was done speaking, Sunny remained silent for a bit. Then, he said:

"Anything else? More details?"

The blind girl shook her head.

"Because of the blizzard, it was hard to see what surrounded the crumbling island, and it was already too damaged to recognize it. So… no, no more details. Uh… you were wearing a metal armor, I think? Not the Puppeteer's Shroud."

Sunny massaged his temples with a bleak expression on his face.

"Well… it's not as bad as I expected."

Cassie tilted her head a little.

"It's not?"

A dark smile appeared on his lips.

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"We already know that your visions are easy to misinterpret. You haven't seen us die, really… right? The light go out of our eyes, our bodies being torn apart, and so on. You just saw us badly injured and falling into the darkness. So what? I have already fallen into the Sky Below once, and here I am, good as new."

The blind girl hesitated.

"You fell into the Sky Below?"

Sunny waved a hand dismissively.

"Yes, but that doesn't matter. Wait, no… actually, it does matter. It's the reason I came to see you. I have almost forgotten because of this… charming revelation of yours."

After that, he grew silent, thinking about Cassie's vision of their death.

Despite Sunny's bravado, inside, he wasn't as nonchalant about it as he wanted to appear. Yes, her visions had been misleading in the past… but not all of them. Some were as straightforward as possible. And yes, although he had already gone through the endless void below the Chained Isles once, there was no guarantee that he would survive it second time, not unless he had chosen to do so himself.

After the Twisted Rock was destroyed by the Crushing, Sunny managed to survive due to three reasons: one of them was Mordret, one was that he had already been near the Tear, and the other was the [Where is my eye?] enchantment that he had used in a moment of desperation.

That enchantment had almost killed him, itself, and only failed to do so because his already exhausted shadow essence ran out just at the right time. If his reserves had not been depleted, and he was forced to endure staring into the eternity of Fate for a few seconds more, his mind would have been destroyed completely.

If he was thrown into the Sky Below once more, away from the Tear, there would be a very slim chance of him finding the rift in the ocean of divine flame again. Especially if he was as badly wounded as Cassie implied.

And there were giant birds fighting wyverns in the sky above.

So, what he had to do now was… well, what the hell was he supposed to do? The vision did not provide any actionable information. The only thing Sunny could think of was to work really hard to get himself a flight-capable Memory or Echo before winter.

And maybe make a will.

He sighed.

"So… what have you been doing to prevent the two of us from dying? How can you calmly dig around in the mud, knowing what is going to happen?"

Cassie lingered for a moment, then smiled.

"In fact, I am digging around in the mud for that very reason."

Sunny snorted.

"What are you hoping to find there? A pair of wings?"

She shook her head.

"No… I am just hoping to find a preserved root."

'A root? What can a root do to save us from dying?'

He kept quiet for a bit, then said:

"Alright. Suit yourself. Anyway, I wanted to talk with you about something."

Cassie looked into the depths of the forest, then nodded.

"About what?"

Sunny gathered his thoughts, then explained:

"I have found a Nightmare Seed. A very special one, that contains a very special Second Nightmare. And I want to challenge it after the winter solstice… actually, scratch that. I want to challenge it by the end of the autumn."

His initial plan was to give himself and his companions seven months to prepare, but considering what Cassie saw happening in winter, these plans had to change. Whatever it was that she predicted, facing it as a Master would be much more desirable than facing it as an Awakened.

…Unless her vision took place inside the Nightmare, of course.

Regardless, now, he decided to return to the Ivory Tower before the autumn was over. Six months was a tight amount of time to get ready, but now so different from his initial plan. He could make it work, provided that other people whom he wanted to take with him would, too.

"That Seed is also located in a very special place. In fact, it's right above our heads, in the Ivory Tower. I found a way to get there without being killed by the Crushing… although that other path is, arguably, just as dangerous."

Sunny pointed down.

"It's in the Sky Below. Effie and Kai are coming to the Chaines Isles to join me. We hope that you will challenge the Nightmare with us, too. Oh... and we'll need your help getting into the Night Temple. There's an item we need to retrieve there."

Cassie faced him and remained silent for a while. With her eyes being hidden by a mask and her face unmoving, it was hard to tell what she was feeling or thinking about.

Finally, she said:

"You want me to join? After what I have done to you?"

Unseen to her, a cold expression appeared on Sunny's face. He looked at the blind girl for a long time, then shrugged.

"Why not? We don't have to be friends to go into a Nightmare together. We don't even need to like each other. We can just be… temporary allies. Wasn't that what I was to you, anyway? If you can handle that, so can I. I don't mind being used, as long as I get to use you in return. Pretty simple."

Cassie turned away and didn't say anything for a few moments. Then, she answered:

"Alright. I will go to the Night Temple with you, and help you conquer the Second Nightmare. But… I want your help with something in return."

Sunny raised an eyebrow.

"My help? With what?"

The blind girl hesitated for a second, and then said:

"You have been to the Shipwreck Island, haven't you? The creature that dwells there… in a few months, I want you to help me kill it."