Primal Beast Nephthys—the winged goddess who dons the coffin of eternity. With a burst of wind, she blinds her prey and robs them of everything dear.
Her ability to see and steal souls, sealing them away for herself, has struck fear into the hearts of many. People tremble at the mere sight of her, terrified of losing their souls or something they cherish. Every time she appears, they flee, desperate to keep themselves safe.
But despite her terrifying reputation, Nephthys isn't as fearsome as she seems. The truth is, no one has ever given her a chance.
With her ability to see souls, Nephthys has lived a lonely existence for hundreds of years. Watching souls from afar has been her only form of entertainment. She finds comfort in the warmth and brightness of certain souls, enjoying their glow from a distance.
Of course, not all souls are the same. Some are dark, clouded, and disgusting—so disgusting that Nephthys can't bear to look at them. When she encounters such souls, she seals them away, effectively killing their owners.
As a Primal Beast, Nephthys doesn't fully understand the concept of death. She acts on instinct, unaware of the consequences of her actions. Over time, her reputation grew, and people began to fear her, running away whenever she appeared.
To avoid causing more fear, Nephthys decided to observe souls from a distance. But after hundreds of years of loneliness, simply watching from afar wasn't enough. She longed to reach out, to connect with the souls that fascinated her.
This longing led her to kidnap people, bringing them to her nest to keep her company. Her kidnapping spree ended when she encountered Aliza, whose soul shone brighter and more beautifully than any she had ever seen. Nephthys couldn't resist—she took Aliza too, drawn to her radiant soul.
Understanding that mortals needed food and water to survive, Nephthys left her nest to gather supplies. But when she returned, she found that the souls she had captured were gone, replaced by four new souls standing in her nest.
Her eyes narrowed as she focused on the newcomers. One soul, in particular, caught her attention—a vibrant purple soul so bright it was almost blinding. It felt menacing and terrifying, even to her as a Primal Beast, yet it also radiated a strange warmth and comfort.
Nephthys had never encountered a soul like this before.
Next to the purple soul was a bright blue one, pure and innocent, radiating a comforting warmth that surpassed anything she had ever felt. But there was something unusual about it—a faint purple hue enveloping the blue soul, as if the purple soul was trying to influence it, marking it as its own.
Of course, as soon as Nephthys saw the purple hue enveloping the blue soul, she knew exactly who was responsible.
Her gaze locked onto the man beside Lyria—the one with the vibrant purple soul. Without hesitation, she summoned her weapons: an Ankh in one hand and a Crook in the other. Beneath her, a coffin made of black stone materialized, its surface etched with ancient runes.
The coffin creaked open, and from within, countless spectral hands emerged, invisible to mortal eyes. They shot toward the purple soul with terrifying speed.
Rei's eyes widened as he saw the transparent hands rushing toward him. He dodged to the side, but the hands changed direction, relentlessly pursuing him.
The others, however, were completely unaware of what was happening.
"Why is Rei running?" Jessica asked, clearly unable to see the spectral hands attacking him.
"You don't see it?? He's being attacked by multiple pale, transparent hands right now!" Lyria exclaimed, her voice filled with urgency.
"What?? I can't see anything!" Aliza added, her confusion evident.
Lyria quickly focused her power, and the purple crystal on her chest began to glow with a radiant light.
"Celeste, lend me your power," Lyria said, calling upon the power of the Primal Beast Celeste. Sensing that Nephthys' abilities were tied to souls, Lyria decided to counter with a similar power.
"Celeste: Null Void Omega!"
From Lyria's crystal, multiple ghostly skulls with blue flames burning in their eye sockets emerged. They surged forward, their jaws snapping as they began devouring the spectral hands, halting their advance and severing their connection to the coffin.
"That's really scary..." Aliza murmured, watching in awe as the skeletal heads munched on something she couldn't see.
"Wait, this isn't the time to be amazed—we need to help too!" Jessica said, quickly reloading her big cannon.
"Oh, right!" Aliza snapped out of her daze, focusing her mana to strengthen her body. She ripped the lower part of her dress, allowing her legs to move more freely.
Jessica aimed her cannon at Nephthys, waiting for the perfect moment to fire, while Aliza prepared herself for close combat.
Meanwhile, Rei, seeing that the spectral hands had stopped chasing him, turned his attention to Nephthys. He scanned the cave, realizing he couldn't use too much destructive power here without risking a collapse. He also didn't want to harm Nephthys, as Primal Beasts were living beings with emotions and personalities, not mindless creatures.
The only way to subdue Nephthys without causing destruction was to use his Astral power to command her, but Rei hesitated. He didn't want to force his will on her.
Instead, he decided to call upon Yggdrasil's power. With her governance over the earth, she was the perfect choice to stabilize the cave and prevent it from collapsing.
"Yggdrasil, let me use your power," Rei murmured, placing his hand on the ground. A surge of energy flowed through him, spreading Yggdrasil's power throughout the cave to reinforce its structure.
As Rei worked to secure the cave, the others launched their attack.
"Hyaaaah!" Aliza shouted, flames erupting from her feet with every step. The fire spread across the ground, igniting everything in its path as she charged toward Nephthys.
Aliza charged toward Nephthys, her legs wreathed in flames. But Nephthys, focused entirely on Rei, didn't pay attention to Aliza's approach. As a result, Aliza landed several powerful kicks, each one striking Nephthys' back.
"Ahhhh!" Nephthys screamed in pain, her body flickering as she vanished from her spot and reappeared elsewhere.
But Jessica was ready.
*BOOOM!*
The explosive sound of her cannon echoed through the cave as the shot hit Nephthys square on, sending her crashing into the wall.
"True Shot," Jessica murmured, a satisfied smirk on her face as she watched the Primal Beast get thrown back.
"Nice one, Jessica!" Aliza praised, impressed by Jessica's aim and her ability to predict where Nephthys would reappear.
"Thank you. You've got some strong martial arts too—I've never seen anyone hurt a Primal Beast with just kicks before," Jessica replied.
By the time Rei finished reinforcing the cave with Yggdrasil's power, he ran over to join them, standing beside Aliza.
"Nice work, you two. But a Primal Beast isn't going to be that easy to beat. Stay focused," he warned.
As if to prove his point, Nephthys emerged from the wall, her body unharmed. She teleported in front of them again, her expression furious. Meanwhile, the wall she had crashed into repaired itself, the cracks sealing shut thanks to Yggdrasil's power.
"Nephthys, please stop! We're not here to fight you—we just want to rescue the people," Lyria said, trying to reason with her.
"Yes, what she said is true. We're sorry for coming to your place, but we just want to rescue the people," Jessica added.
But their words only seemed to anger Nephthys further. A strong green wind began to swirl around her, forming a glowing circle that intensified with her rage.
"My souls... YOU STOLE MY SOULS!!" Nephthys screamed, her power surging as her weapons, the Ankh and Crook, began to glow with a menacing green hue.
"They're not just souls—they're people! They have families and loved ones to return to. You can't just kidnap them!" Lyria shouted, still trying to reach her.
But Nephthys, as a Primal Beast, didn't understand such concepts. Enraged, she aimed her Ankh at the group. A blinding light shot out from it, moving at an incredible speed.
Nephthys' attack was unlike anything they had seen before. From her Ankh, a massive, glowing green aura erupted, shaped like the symbol of the Ankh itself. The energy pulsed with an otherworldly force, radiating outward in a wave of destructive power.
"Yggdrasil!" Rei shouted, and the earth around them responded. A stone wall erupted from the ground, shielding the group from the attack.
*BOOOM!*
The Ankh-shaped aura struck the wall, shattering it instantly. Yggdrasil hadn't had enough time to reinforce it fully, but the wall slowed the attack just enough for Rei to react.
Grabbing everyone, Rei leaped out of the way, narrowly avoiding the attack.
Nephthys' attack didn't stop even after Rei and the others dodged it. The Ankh-shaped aura continued its path, slamming into the cave wall behind them. Thanks to Yggdrasil's reinforcement, the wall held firm, and the attack finally dissipated.
"That was so fast! I couldn't even react to it!" Aliza exclaimed, her voice filled with disbelief.
"This is completely different from when I usually fight Primal Beasts... The difference is huge when they're enraged," Jessica added, her tone tense.
"What should we do? Nephthys isn't listening to me. Do we need to fight her seriously?" Lyria asked, her voice tinged with sadness. She didn't want to hurt Nephthys, but the situation was escalating quickly.
"Well, all we can do is either run away or fight. But if we run, she'll just kidnap more people, and I'm sure she'll take them to an even more secluded place where no one can find them," Rei explained.
"Or we do the usual, Lyria. You absorb her power and calm her down," Rei suggested.
"Absorb her??" Aliza and Jessica said in unison, their eyes wide with shock.
"Yeah, we don't really have any other choice. Alright, I'll get ready to absorb her. Rei, I'll leave the rest to you," Lyria said, determination shining in her eyes.
Rei nodded, then turned to Aliza and Jessica. "You two, just stay here and protect Lyria, alright?"
"Huh? Of course not! I'm going to help you! There's no way I'm just going to stand here while you fight a Primal Beast," Aliza immediately protested.
"I don't fully understand what you mean by absorbing a Primal Beast, but as a martial artist, I'm not going to stand by while someone else fights for everyone's safety," she added firmly.
Rei wasn't surprised. He knew Aliza's personality from the game—stubborn, tomboyish, and fiercely independent.
"Alright, just follow my lead," Rei said, materializing his Katana of Repudiation in his hand.
"I'll stay here and protect Lyria. Maybe I can support you two from afar," Jessica said, gripping her cannon tightly.
Rei and Aliza nodded, then moved forward. But before they could take more than a few steps, Nephthys launched another attack. The same Ankh-shaped aura surged toward them, but this time, Rei was ready.
With a swift slash of his katana, he cleaved the attack in two, destroying it effortlessly.
"Wow, so fast..." Aliza murmured, impressed by Rei's speed and precision.
"Let's go, Aliza!" Rei called out.
"Eh... yes!" Aliza snapped out of her awe and followed Rei as they charged toward Nephthys.