He nodded. Sadly, there was little known about the titan and its abilities — even though Saint Tyris had spent months suppressing the creature, most of their drawn—out battle had not been a direct one. The Winter Beast had shown an eerie ability to control cold, snow, and wind. Since Sky Tide commanded the winds, as well, their battlefield had been the sky above the Antarctic Center itself.
It was precisely because the titan's most dreadful power had been continuously countered by Saint Tyris that no one knew its true extent. It had to be tremendous, though, considering that the mere presence of the creature was distorting communications across the entire region.
All Sunny and Jet could do was make educated guesses.
She hesitated.
"...Good, then."
After that, both fell silent.
Sunny looked at Soul Reaper, remembering the past. She was the first person he had met after surviving the First Nightmare... back then, Jet looked like an unreachable goddess to him. Seeing her cold beauty, he had been stunned... luckily, she promptly slapped some sense back into him. After that, Master Jet was always in the background of his life, arguably saving it on more than one occasion with her advice and slightly jaded wisdom.
And now, they were equals.
It was funny... the two of them had only met a few years ago, but Sunny felt as though he had known let all his life. Maybe because those years felt like several lifetimes...
He sighed, then suddenly asked:
"Master Jet... I've always wanted to ask. Why did you really join the government? Considering your abilities and character, the Legacy clans probably showered you with offers — and incredible ones, at that. Well, you must have received a Special Strategic Asset designation, as well."
They had briefly talked about it in the past, but Sunny always felt that he did not know the full truth.
Soul Reaper looked at him with a surprised expression.
"What? Where did this come from?"
He chuckled.
"Just... curious, that's all."
Jet remained silent for a bit, then scoffed.
"Well, alright. But you are really overestimating me. A Special Strategic Asset? I wasn't even designated as a simple Strategic Asset. Sure, my Aspect was a dangerous and unique one, but other than that, I was completely unremarkable. I was foolish, timid. and unsure of myself, too. It was only later... much later... after being beaten by life over and over again that I got rid of some of my foolishness and bloomed into this awesome and incomparably majestic figure you see in front of yourself today.𝓷𝓞𝓋𝔢𝓵𝓤𝑆𝒃.𝗰𝑜𝔪
Satisfied?"
Sunny smiled.
"I guess."
After a few moments of silence, he asked:
"Do you regret it, though? The path that you took?"
She looked away, a thoughtful expression appearing on her face. Master Jet pondered his question for a bit, then shrugged.
Her voice was calm:
"Ours is a bitter life, Sunny. From the outskirts of NQSC to here, it has often been bitter, and only rarely sweet. A life like that... it would be a waste, to make it taste more bitter still with regret. So, no. I might be unsatisfied with many things, but I would never waste my time on regret."
Jet looked at him and raised a brow.
"Why? Are you feeling regretful about something?"
Sunny laughed.
"Honestly? Right now, I am regretting pretty much every single decision I've made in my life."
She stared at him blankly, then rolled her eyes.
"Well, get over it. We have a titan to fight."
And so they did.
The temperature continued to plunge, and the winds grew more and more frenzied, howling through the streets of the siege capital like hungry wolves.
Faster than everyone had hoped, only a few short hours later...
The Winter Beast had reached Falcon Scott.