Sunny had never seen Nephis show fear before, not to mention being truly horrified.
Instantly, every muscle in his body tensed, and a cold shiver ran through it.
âIt canât be, it canât be!â
She was a person who faced demons and fearsome abominations without even flinching. What could scare her so much?
Was he mistaken? Was Kai an incarnation of some primordial evil after all? How could this be?!
Panicking, he turned back to face the charming young man and outstretched one arm, ready to summon the Midnight Shard. Not that it would help if even Changing Star was scaredâŠ
âŠBut, to his surprise, Kai wasnât showing any signs of being an ancient terror. In fact, he was looking at him with a cute expression of confusion.
âUh, Sunny? Who is your friend?â
No, it didnât make any sense. Not only was Sunny sure of his judgment, he had also seen multiple people greeting Night as though they knew and liked him. He couldnât be a Nightmare Creature.
Then what was wrong with Nephis?
Keeping his shadowâs gaze on the charming archer, Sunny slowly turned back and glanced at Changing Star. She was still standing there, seemingly paralyzed by fear.
What was going on?
âUh⊠Neph?â
She flinched and tore her eyes away from Kai. After a few seconds, Changing Star cautiously leaned forward and whispered:
âSunny⊠what is Night doing here?â
He frowned.
âHeâs the friend I was telling you about.â
She lingered, then shook her head:
âNo, I mean what is he doing here?â
The emphasis was on the word âhereâ.
âWhere else would he be?â
Completely lost, Sunny struggled to understand what was going on. Maybe she knew something about the kidnapping? That didnât make sense. Finally, he said:
âI saved his life in the ruins, so heâs doing me a favor in return.â
Nephis stared at him with desperation, then shook her head again:
âNo, I mean what is Night doing here, on the Forgotten Shore!â
Sunny scowled.
âDid you guys know each other in the real world?â
Nephis looked at him with a funny expression. She opened her mouth, then closed it again.
Finally, she forced herself to speak:
âYou⊠you donât know who he is?â
Meanwhile, Kai, who was politely staying silent through this whole weird conversation, smiled dazzlingly and said:
âHe really doesnât. Isnât it wonderful?â
Sunny gave him a dark look.
âHow would I know who he is? Make sense, please.â
Neph was silent for a while, then loudly whispered:
âThatâs Night, you idiot! Night from Nightingale! The Night!â
What was she going on about?! He had no idea what that meant!
Sunny rubbed his face with irritation:
âWhat are you talking about? What is a Nightingale?â
Nephis looked at Kai, paled even more, and finally said in a small voice:
âItâs⊠only the best and most famous idol group of the last decade. Triple Orpheus winners, one hundred consecutive weeks at the top of all charts, six diamond albums. That⊠that Nightingale. That Night. The lead vocalistâŠâ
Sunny simply stared.
âWait. Are you telling meâŠâ
Was she so out of it because Kai used to be a member of some stupid boy band in the past?
Changing Star was not horrified, she was⊠starstruck?
He remained silent for a while.
And then exploded into laughter.
âGods⊠oh gods! Nephis is a fangirl! What the Spell, thatâs too funnyâŠâ
Come to think of it, when they first met, she had been wearing headphones the whole time. He should have realized that Neph was into music much earlier. Mighty and stoic Changing Star, brought down by a dainty idol boyâŠ
That was just too hilarious!
He wasnât even jealous. What were the chances of meeting her bias in the damn Dark City? You couldnât come up with that crap!
As he was dying from laughter, both Changing Star and Kai glared at him with difficult expressions. However, Sunny just couldnât stop. His laughter only died down after he began wheezing.
âSorry, sorry. I just⊠didnât expect it. From you. Ha! Oh, gods. As for your question, Night has been here for about two and a half years. He lives in the castleâŠâ
Nephis seemed thoughtful for a few moments, then glanced at Kai with wide eyes.
âTwo and a half years? But⊠but I thought that Nightingale was just on hiatus because of Galeâs solo projectâŠâ
âOh, thereâs a Gale, too. I canât evenâŠâ
Kai smiled apologetically.
âIâm afraid not. I have indeed spent all this time here, in the Dark City. My agency had to come up with some cover story, I guess. With how things are, they canât even spin things and release a posthumous album, poor guys. You know, since Iâm not technically dead, or even Hollow. Just⊠asleep.â
Neph gave him a shy nod.
âOh. I see.â
Trying to remove the awkward atmosphere, Kai offered her another smile.
âBy the way, itâs so nice to meet another friend of Sunnyâs. What a surprise! I thought that he was a complete⊠uh⊠a solitary person. Iâm sorry, but I didnât catch your name. Was it Neph?â
Looking at him, Sunny grinned. Then, he cleared his throat and said in a relaxed tone:
âOh right, I forgot to introduce you. Sorry, by bad. Night, this is Nephis. Although these days she goes by another name. You might have heard it⊠meet Changing Star of the Immortal Flame clan.â
âŠNow, it was Kaiâs turn to stare at Neph with horror. The corner of his eye twitched.
However, perhaps due to his idol training, he managed to hide his emotions much faster. Blinking a few times, he lingered for a moment, and then said in his smooth, enchanting voice:
âOh. Itâs⊠a pleasure to meet you, my lady. I have⊠have heard so much about you. Itâs an honor!â
Nephis turned away, trying to hide a hint of blush on her cheeks. Staring at the wall of the alley, she hesitated, then awkwardly said:
âSo⊠uh⊠your friend is already here, Sunny. Can we go have a talk now?â
She glanced at him and added after a bit of hesitation:
âI have something important to discuss with you. Itâs⊠a matter of life and death.â