Effie exhaled slowly.
"I know. Don't misunderstand me, Sunny — I am not hesitating. In truth, I have already decided to go into the Nightmare during our odd adventure in Mirage City. You see... missing a part of his childhood feels terrible. But I have to make sure that he even gets to have a childhood first. Unlike the two of us, who barely got to be children."
She looked at the city below and raised a hand, as if trying to hold it in her palm.
“There are countless children in Bastion, Sunny. I want to make sure that none of them has to be in a rush to grow up.’
Effie paused for a moment and then chuckled.
“Actually, I am not worried about my Dumpling that much. If anything, I worry about his dad more... how is he going to handle a Transcendent rascal alone? You'll have to help him a lot while I'm gone, doofus."
Sunny smiled.
He wondered how far his ball had already reached.
“That's Uncle Doofus, thank you very much. How is that guy doing, by the way?"
Effie hesitated for a moment.
"He doesn't remember what happened, so he's fine. Actually, he's not fine... he saw what state I was in back then, and I think that left a mark on him. So, he's completely focused on achieving natural Ascension now. He and Aiko have a competition to see who can become a Master first. Uh... crazy times we live in, right? Natural Ascension, who could have thought?"
She smiled.
“Hey, Sunny... do you remember, back on the Forgotten Shore, I once told you that the Dream Realm is a paradise?"
He nodded.
"I do. I mean, how could I have forgotten something so nonsensical?"
Effie chuckled, then inhaled deeply.
“Now, I don't think that it's a paradise... it's not a paradise yet."
She picked up another club and rolled a ball closer.
"But I think we can make it into one, if we really try. We will probably fail... but we won't know unless we try, will we?"
Sunny opened his mouth to answer, but at that moment, the Spell suddenly whispered into his ear.
It said...
[You have slain a Fallen Monster, Undetectable Forest Maw.]
He froze for a moment, then glanced at his club.
‘Huh.'
Noticing his expression, Effie raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
Sunny remained silent for a moment, then smiled.
“Oh... I think I won our competition, that's all.”