Her entire body burned.
The first thing Nephis felt was the searing heat engulfing every fiber of her being, followed by the scorching sand beneath her. Her battle-worn skin protested against the burning surface, but her mind barely registered the pain. Slowly, she opened her eyes, greeted by an expanse of deep blue sky, devoid of a single cloud to offer solace.
She recognized the place instantly.
The Nightmare Desert.
A vast, endless stretch of golden sand, lying east of the Forgotten Shore. An unforgiving wasteland where the sun showed no mercy to anything that dared to exist beneath it. A place where the only shade was the shadow of death.
Back when she was still a Sleeper, she had decided it was better to face the horrors of the Hollow Mountains—a land of guaranteed death—than to risk stepping into this merciless desert. And now, after surviving Antarctica, after battling a Saint, after witnessing the opening of Category 4 Nightmare Gates... she realized that even as an Ascended, she still wasn't ready for what this place had in store.
She knew it the moment she felt the oppressive weight of the sun pressing down on her, suffocating her with its mere presence. Breathing was difficult, as if every inhale scorched her from the inside out.
This place was not meant for people like them.
She forced herself to sit up, ignoring the pain and exhaustion. Her mind worked quickly, assessing the situation. She had made it to the Dream Realm, along with everyone else who had managed to escape. But that didn't mean they were safe.
Shit... Sunny.
The thought struck her like a hammer. She didn't waste another second. Almost instinctively, she called upon the runes she knew better than any other.
Name: Sunless
True Name: Lost from Light
Aspect: [Shadow slave ]
The runes shone with the same brilliance as always.
A deep sense of relief settled in her chest. The tight grip of fear that had clenched her heart just moments ago eased slightly.
Sunny was alive.
Nephis had to find him.
If this was the desert she remembered, then they were screwed.
She let out a weary sigh. Why was her luck always this bad? Too many things were weighing on her mind—Cassie's sudden lack of visions, the state of the rest of her cohort, and above all, Sunny's whereabouts. She needed to have a serious conversation with the blind seer, but that would only be possible if she survived long enough to do so. And, obviously, she would.
But first, she needed to find a place to recover and replenish her dwindling essence.
Hours had passed since she had arrived in the Nightmare Desert, and to be honest, she hadn't accomplished much. Well, aside from almost dying of dehydration. How the hell did she still not have a Memory that provided water?
She checked Sunny's runes once more, just as she had been doing regularly since her arrival. Nothing unusual. His runes gleamed with the same intensity, his essence fluctuating at its normal rhythm.
Nephis sighed as she glanced at one of his most recent updates.
Saying that Sunny was lucky was one of the biggest lies in existence. She had personally witnessed his endless struggle against fate, his constant dance on the edge of death. But if there was one thing the dark-haired fool couldn't deny... it was his absurd ability to acquire Echoes.
He had obtained a new Transcendent Echo.
None other than Dire Fang.
The Saint who had once been a pillar of strength and honor for his clan, now reduced to a mere Echo in Sunny's possession.
But that wasn't Nephis's main thought.
Her real thought was: Damn it, I want an Echo too.
Sunny had three incredible Echoes. Three. How many did she have? Zero. That wasn't fair.
Before she could continue brooding over her apparent lack of fortune, a sound interrupted her thoughts.
Footsteps.
Light steps pressing into the sand.
Not Nightmare Creatures. A human. If she had to guess, probably someone from her cohort or a Master who had either the luck—or the misfortune—to end up in this cursed desert.
Nephis didn't move.
With subtle, precise motions, she remained perfectly still, her face as unreadable as ever, waiting for the person to come closer.
She was tired. Her essence had regenerated enough to defend herself if needed, but even so, she knew the truth of this place.
No one survives in the Dream Realm alone.
It was a brutal fact... and a painfully accurate one.
When the figure finally approached, a strange feeling gripped her.
Something was wrong.
She couldn't explain it completely. It was instinctual. Not just her training, but something deeper—something in her soul—was telling her that something was off.
The newcomer appeared human. He introduced himself as an Ascended from the Song clan. Dark brown hair, brown eyes—nothing seemed out of place.
Then he spoke.
His voice carried a slightly feminine tone, but that wasn't what caught Nephis's attention.
"Shifting Star... please, I'm not an enemy."
There was a tremor in his voice. A hint of fear and concern.
He had identified himself as an Ascended from Song. Technically, just a few hours ago, that would have made him her enemy. But now... now they were in a desperate situation. The war they had fought in Antarctica no longer mattered. Here, in the Dream Realm, survival took precedence over any clan conflict.
Besides, Nephis never bore any hatred toward Song's warriors. Her true resentment was toward the Sovereigns, the hidden rulers controlling the clans from the shadows. Not the soldiers fighting for them.
And yet, there should have been tension between them. Trust wasn't something easily given to a former enemy.
That was her first logical conclusion for the strange unease she felt.
But it wasn't just that.
This Ascended felt... wrong.
Not just strong—something else.
Yes, all Ascended were powerful. All had endured their own personal hells to reach this level. And if this one was a Legacy of the Song clan, his strength made sense.
But there was something different about him.
His presence... was massive.
Almost as vast as her own.
And Nephis didn't want to sound arrogant, but only Saints—and maybe Sunny—had ever possessed an aura that surpassed hers.
So why did this Ascended make her bones feel like they were boiling? Why did he give her chills?
It didn't make sense.
The young Master of Song looked normal. Maybe she was being too paranoid.
She shook her head and turned away, lost in thought.
The wind howled through the desert, making the sand swirl in fleeting storms. Even the relentless sun seemed to burn a little hotter.
And then she felt it.
A subtle shift in the sand.
No.
That wasn't a human.
And she realized it the hard way.
Barely a second after turning around, the "Master" lunged at her with monstrous speed.
The kind of speed only a Saint should have.
Shit.
Nephis was screwed.
She didn't hesitate. Her hand shot out, and a familiar surge of essence lit up her palm, summoning Sin of Guilt in a flash of spectral blue.
But she didn't even have time to process what was happening.
This thing wasn't human.
It was a Corrupt Nightmare Creature.
One that, somehow, had possessed the body of an Ascended.
Shit.
Even among Corrupt creatures, this was far beyond anything she had encountered before.
What the hell is this thing?
No time to think.
The monster attacked again.
Too fast.
Nephis reacted on instinct
Nephis spun with precise instinct, narrowly avoiding the attack aimed at her neck. Unfortunately, she wasn't fast enough. A searing pain burned through her skin as the creature's claws barely grazed her.
Blood surged immediately, spilling in an alarming amount—enough to have bled out any other person. But she wasn't just anyone. Without hesitation, she summoned her white flames, enveloping herself in the scorching radiance of her Aspect. The wound sealed almost instantly, the pain replaced by an intense warmth.
The battle had only just begun.
Nephis narrowed her eyes, analyzing the abomination in front of her.
This wasn't normal.
As she dodged another attack, this time aimed at her arm, she realized something unsettling. The damned thing was absurdly fast. It didn't fight with the precision of a trained warrior, but its sheer speed was monstrous.
If she kept dodging, she was going to die.
She had to take the offensive. But that was the problem. She was too slow to reach it before it could move. She needed a plan—a calculated risk.
And that risk was going to hurt like hell.
She took a deep breath, body tensed in anticipation. The monster lunged at her, a blur of speed barely registering in her peripheral vision.
This time, instead of dodging with elegance, Nephis moved forward.
She charged head-on.
The monster didn't expect it.
With a flawless slash, a display of masterful skill, her blade cut cleanly through the creature's throat.
But she didn't escape unscathed.
The pain was immediate, intense, excruciating. She glanced down at her arm—or rather, what was left of it.
Her skin had been stripped away, shredded as if devoured by invisible blades. What had once been a strong, steady limb was now a grotesque ruin of exposed flesh and visible bone.
Blood dripped in thick, crimson streams, soaking into the scorching sand beneath her feet.
It hurt.
It hurt like hell.
But that didn't matter.
She ignited herself in her white flames again, feeling the scorching heat fuse her flesh back together, restoring the damage with brutal efficiency. Her arm, which moments ago had been a mangled wreck, regenerated before her eyes.
Nephis took a deep breath, her chest rising and falling with effort.
She had won.
Or at least, she thought so.
Before she could react, the creature rose.
What had once been a handsome ascended of the Song clan... was gone.
Its throat, still open and bleeding, didn't seem to matter to it in the slightest. It showed no pain, no weakness, not even awareness of the mortal wound in its neck.
And its eyes...
The brown eyes that once held life were now empty voids, soulless and hollow.
Then, it smiled.
A grotesque, unnatural grin.
The creature tried to speak. Or rather, it attempted to.
—Join us... Join us...
Its voice was a twisted echo of something that had once been human. Each word wasn't just a sound, but a chorus of screams—an agonizing cacophony of suffering and terror, impossible to comprehend.
And with every syllable, its grasp on language seemed to unravel, its voice distorting into something inhuman.
A shiver crawled down Nephis's spine.
Whatever this thing was... it should not exist.
The battle dragged on for several more minutes, each one an absolute hell.
Nephis was mutilated in every possible way. Her skin was torn off, her flesh ripped open, her bones shattered like fragile glass. And yet, she kept fighting.
She wasn't the only one suffering. The abomination didn't emerge unscathed either. Its body was covered in deep gashes, torn limbs, and wounds that would have killed any other enemy. But this thing... this thing refused to die.
They reached a deadlock.
Both missing an arm.
The difference was—Nephis could regenerate.
Her flesh reformed in seconds, bones knitting back together, skin closing with the ruthless efficiency of her white flames. Meanwhile, the creature... it just stood there, watching her with its demented grin, its throat still gaping and bleeding, its severed arm missing yet showing no sign of pain.
Then, Nephis noticed it.
Her white flames...
Were they hurting it?
She had seen it. When she had wrapped her sword in divine fire and slashed, the creature had avoided it with unnatural precision, dodging as if its very existence depended on it.
Shit.
If this worked...
Nephis clenched her teeth.
She was going to burn through a ridiculous amount of essence.
But it was worth it.
With one last effort, she let her divine flames expand with all their might.
The small patch of sand they had been fighting on was suddenly flooded with blinding radiance. For a brief moment, it looked as if a second sun had risen in the desert.
Then came the scream.
An inhuman sound. A piercing, soul-rending howl that did not belong to this world.
The creature writhed, convulsing violently as its flesh dissolved under the light. Its limbs burned away, crumbling to ashes. Its face—that grotesque mockery of humanity—disintegrated beneath the purity of the divine flames.
And finally...
It died.
Nephis gasped, her legs threatening to give out beneath her. She could barely stand. Her essence was nearly depleted. Her body, drenched in sweat and blood, screamed for rest.
But she couldn't afford to stop.
Not when she hadn't found Sunny yet.
If anyone else—if Sunny or the others—encountered one of these things...
Nephis shut her eyes for a brief moment, refusing to let the thought take root.
She followed her instinct.
Light always seeks out the shadows.
And she was going to find hers.
Hours passed.
Hours of wandering aimlessly beneath the merciless sun.
Hours of searching for any trace of life, any human who hadn't been turned into one of those skin-changing abominations.
Hours of trudging through the scorching sand, lips dry, throat burning from the lack of water, her body exhausted to the core.
But she couldn't stop.
Not until she found him.
The sun had begun its descent, painting the sky in hues of orange and red. Soon, night would come. And if she remembered correctly, once darkness fell, this desert would become even more dangerous.
That was when she saw it.
In the distance, the lengthening shadows of the encroaching night stretched over the sand. And among them, Nephis spotted several figures lying motionless on the ground.
She ran.
Her body protested with every step, but she didn't care.
As she drew closer, the first thing she noticed was the corpses of two ascended.
Dead.
Shredded.
They were... creatures. Or what remained of them. Their bodies had been torn apart—brutally, mercilessly. As if someone had made sure there was absolutely nothing left.
So that was another way to kill them.
Nephis swallowed hard, forcing down the nausea rising in her throat.
Then, she saw the others.
Scattered. Exhausted.
Kai. Effie. Cassie.
Her entire cohort lay on the sand, completely drained of essence. Unconscious. Defeated. And among them, another familiar figure: Jet, Soul Reaper, just as motionless as the rest.
But then, her gaze shifted.
Beyond the group, one lone figure remained standing.
Haggard. Frail.
Surrounded by shadows.
The only one left on his feet.
Nephis felt her heart stop.
Sunny was barely holding himself up.
His right arm hung from his body by mere strands of torn flesh. His skin was shredded, exposing ruined muscle and fractured bone beneath.
How the hell was he still standing?
Fear crashed into her with devastating force.
It was an ugly fear.
Raw.
Ruthless.
A fear she had never felt before.
The fear of seeing Sunny like this.
And before her mind could even process it, her body was already moving.
Nephis sprinted at full speed, ignoring the exhaustion, the scorching heat, the sand that kicked up beneath her feet. The only thing that mattered was reaching him.
Her heart pounded with brutal intensity, as if trying to break free from her chest. Desperation fueled her legs, pushing her forward with a ferocity she hadn't even felt in the battle against Dire Fang.
Sunny was in bad shape.
Terribly bad.
And she had to get to him before it was too late.