Chapter 3246 Abysmal Reunion

“Snuggle! I said Snuggle!"

As soon as the words escaped Sunny's lips, he covered his mouth with a palm. He trembled.

That was not what he had wanted to convey... but his damn Flaw struck while he was rattled.

‘...Oh, no.'

Oh, no!

Naturally, he had merely addressed Smile of Heaven by the name he was most used to. But did Nephis know that?

Judging by her subdued, but terrifying reaction, she did not.

What was it that Smile of Heaven had said after he addressed her that way for the first time?

‘I'd rather not... that was what she said.'

Neph's response, it seemed, was going to be much more fiery.

‘C—crap!'

Sunny fully expected to be blown off the bridge by an obliterating explosion. In fact, was the great bridge even going to survive? He was not sure.

And indeed, Nephis began to raise her hand with an emotionless, but frightening expression. Behind her, Slayer rested her palm on the hilt of her dagger, as if prepared to strike White Abyss the moment her master was attacked.

...Far behind, the Jade Queen's eyes turned cold while her beaming smile remained the same.

Sunny made some mental calculations. After that, he prepared to turn from a Titan into a Terror.

Before white flames had a chance to swallow him, however, Smile of Heaven jumped forward and hung on Neph's arm, pushing it back down with her weight.

"Nephie! Stop, stop! He's mommy's friend!"

Nephis froze.

Sunny froze, as well.

Both of them turned their heads and stared at Smile of Heaven silently.

Sunny's face remained still, but inside, he was dying from secondhand embarrassment.

‘What on earth... is she saying?’

Nephie? Mommy? Who talked like that? Even if she was, technically, Neph's mother, her daughter was already a grown woman. She was a few-thousand-year-old demigod, older than Smile of Heaven by a few Ages! Nephis herself was void of all emotions, and yet, it almost seemed as if she cringed slightly.

Smile of Heaven seemed to realize what she had said, as well. She slowly let go of Neph's arm, took a step back, and coughed awkwardly.

“Uh, what I meant to say was... uh... stay thy wrath, venerable White Abyss! This man is my dear friend!"

Nephis studied her with a hint of a dubious frown.

It did not seem that she doubted Smile of Heaven's truthfulness. Rather, she seemed to be perplexed by her mother's choice of alternative speech style.

Smile of Heaven smiled sheepishly.

“I used to inhabit a child's doll when we traveled together, and Snuggle was that doll's name. So, he didn't mean anything untoward just now. Still... Shadow! Think before you speak, damnit! Sable, just call me Sable from now on!"

Sunny blinked a couple of times.

“Alright.”

He was willing to call her whatever she wanted to be called. She might have saved his life a few moments ago, after all!

Nephis studied Smile of Heaven for a few moments, then tilted her head a little. Finally, she slowly lowered her arm.

Sunny let out a furtive sigh of relief. The suffocating heat was slowly abating, so it seemed as though she was not going to blast him to smithereens just yet.

That... that was progress, right?

Smile of Heaven — Sable — looked relieved, as well. Now that the two Titans were not about to clash in a cataclysmic battle... at least not immediately... she spared Nephis one more concerned glance, then turned to look to Shadow.

Finally, she could allow herself to feel stunned by his unexpected appearance.

“What... what are you doing here, Shadow?"

Sable paused for a moment, then shook her head energetically.

"No, before that! You're alive! Thank the gods!"

Sunny studied her silently, amused.

‘Thank the gods, huh?’

This time, their reunion was indeed possible thanks to the gods — literally. Thanks to a particular god, to be precise.

He lingered for a moment, then spoke:

"I assume that I am here for the same reason you are. The Oracle of Thetis — Song of the Fallen — sent me an invitation."

Noticing her curious and expectant gaze, Sunny lingered for a moment, then added:

“I descended into the Shadow Realm after we parted. But its ruler... he refused me."

Sunny smiled bitterly.

"He seemed to have figured out something that even I did not know — that I wanted to survive, after all. So, I just remained in the Shadow Realm, slumbering in the darkness. Until the Oracle sent someone to fetch me."

Sable listened to him attentively. As he spoke, a smile found its way onto her face — a hesitant one at first, then a beaming one.

“Oh, so you... you don't want to... do the thing you wanted to do anymore?"

By that, she probably meant that he had wanted to die.

Sunny remained silent for a moment, then shook his head.

"No. Meeting the Oracle was quite illuminating. She helped me set myself straight.”

Sable let out a relieved sigh.

“Good! That's wonderful! I am so happy... I should probably thank that Oracle woman, if we ever meet."

She fell silent for a moment, then coughed awkwardly.

"Well, and as for me... I wandered aimlessly for a few years after we parted, then got myself into real trouble and ended up frozen in the stasis crystal once again. It was Song of the Fallen who helped me escape it — well, a person she had sent. I received instructions to find White Abyss and invite her to the Jade Palace. Which makes me a person she sent as well, I guess. And here we are!"

Looking between Sunny and Nephis with a troubled expression, she hesitated for a moment, then said:

"Shadow, meet White Abyss. Her name is Nephis, and she... she is my daughter. Nephis, meet Shadow — he is my friend and benefactor. Although, why am I even introducing you? You two must have known each other before the Nightmare."

Neither of them spoke for a few moments, looking at each other.

Eventually, Sunny sighed.

"Shadow is not my real name, you know?"

Sable looked at him in confusion, then let out a small laugh.

"Right. What kind of name is Shadow? Only an ancient abomination or an eldritch deity would have that name. You must have a normal, human name as well. What is it?"

Sunny kept his gaze on Nephis, wishing to see if she would show any reaction.

"It's Sunless."

No emotion showed itself on her beautiful, unmoving face.

Sable stared at him wordlessly, then forced out a chuckle.

“Sunless? Is that your idea of a normal, human name?"

Turning his head slightly, Sunny looked at her and smiled.

“My mother had a poetic soul, you see. People usually call me..."

But before he could finish the sentence, Nephis finally spoke:

"Sunny."

He glanced at her.

Still, her face remained expressionless. There was only a hint of a strange contemplation in her eyes.

He exhaled slowly.

"So, you remember me, after all."

Nephis studied him for a moment, then said evenly:

"I remember... bits and pieces. Fragments of a broken dream. Still, it was such a long time ago. An eternity ago. So, if I remember even this little... it must have been dreadfully important to me once, wasn't it?"

She sighed, then shook her head slowly.

“It's like watching a silent film. The movements are all there. The colors are there, as well. I can even guess the sounds, but what emotions were they supposed to evoke? I don't remember. Like it all happened to someone else."

Nephis glanced him in the eye and said:

“And why should I care to remember? Tell me... if you will.”

Sunny's face grew darker as he listened to her.

But after she fell silent, a faint smile twisted his lips.

“Yes... it was important. As for why you should care to remember — there is no real answer, I guess. I can explain why the original you would have wanted to remember, but you aren't the same person anymore. So what can I say?"

Sable was looking at them, a tense expression on her face. When both of them finished speaking, she hesitated for a short while, then asked:

“So, you two did know each other?"

Sunny nodded slowly.

"I knew her better than anyone else in the world."

Sable stared at him for a few moments. Then, her eyes widened slightly.

“Wait. Wait a moment! If you two knew each other... then what, exactly, was the nature of your relationship?"

Sunny's smile widened a little.

"You want to know what our relationship was?"

Since Nephis remained silent, he shrugged.

"Well, let me tell you. I was a humble shopkeeper who ran a small cafe and enjoyed a quiet, peaceful life. Then, your daughter came to my cafe one day, all but forced me into a contractual relationship, seduced me, and used me to piss off her adopted family. The pay was good, but... I almost died! I did die, actually. And that was before her favorite insane uncle literally fell from the sky!"

Sable stared at him with wide eyes.

She seemed utterly stunned.

"W—what?"

Sunny nodded.

"Yes. In short, I was her lover."

Then, he looked at Nephis and smiled darkly.

For a few moments, a tense silence hung between them.

Finally, Sunny broke it in a forceful tone:

"So..."

His brow furrowed.

“Take responsibility."

Sable blinked.

Nephis did, as well.

“What?"

Her tone was even, but he could sense that she was taken aback.

He smiled.

“I mean it. Are you the kind of woman who seduces an innocent young man and then absconds in the middle of a Nightmare? If not, then take responsibility! Saying that you don't care to remember all the things we did... ah, it's just too hurtful..."