Sunny exhaled deeply.
Fate really was against him.
"Stupid Weaver... damned demon of destiny..." he muttered under his breath.
He had just fought against a venomous, incredibly dangerous serpent over ten meters long. He had come out unscathed alongside Nephis, only to end up poisoned by a plant.
Luckily, he was an Ascended, and he had [Blood Weave]. With that, nothing bad could happen.
...Right?
...Right?
Besides, he had to hide it from Nephis. There was no real reason... the poison would probably fade soon, so why worry her? Sure, Nephis wouldn't get angry, but she would definitely fuss over him needlessly. Yes... it was better not to say anything.
Of course, it had nothing to do with the fact that he was embarrassed to admit that his "incredible hiding spot" from where he had landed the killing blow on the serpent had been surrounded by strangely fragrant, extravagantly colored flowers.
But they were just flowers. What harm could they possibly do?
In short: he was too embarrassed to admit his mistake, but hopefully that would be the end of it.
What was the worst that could happen?
——
Everything could go wrong. [Blood Weave] wasn't working.
Well, it made sense... what he was feeling wasn't a deadly poison or intense pain, at the moment...
"Damn it..." Sunny pressed a hand to his forehead.
He felt dizzy. His head was burning hot.
Could he really catch a fever as an Ascended? That should have been impossible!
With his luck... of course it wasn't.
Luckily, he had grown used to sickness back in the Outskirts. A simple fever couldn't possibly defeat someone who, just a week ago, had slain a Great Beast. Right?
Besides, there were only two hours left until they reached the cave. The worst that could happen was that he'd fall asleep upon arriving... right?
Yes, that had to be it. Maybe he was just tired, hungry, and the poison was messing with him. That was all.
——
They had almost reached the cave, but Sunny... was far from his best.
And it wasn't because he was in physical pain—on the contrary, that was exactly the problem.
He didn't know how to explain what was happening to him. He had never experienced anything like it...
In the distance, he saw Nephis's silhouette. Her beautiful straight silver hair... so perfect, so pure, it seemed woven by the very light of the stars.
Her delicate profile, her jaw feminine yet defined. Those gray eyes, cold and emotionless—except when they lingered on him. Her nose, small and flawless, and those lips... red, tempting, impossible to ignore.
Sunny swallowed hard.
Yes. He was screwed.
This was worse than any poison.
That damned plant... what in the world was it?
And that day, Sunny came to know the power and terror of an aphrodisiac...
while being someone who could never lie.
Nephis saw the curious look Sunny gave her as he pinched his cheek, which for some reason was unusually red.
Ever since they had killed the serpent, Sunny had been acting strangely. He avoided eye contact, and more than once she caught him staring into nothing.
She felt genuine curiosity about what was happening to him. If he hadn't asked her to heal him, then it couldn't be anything serious. Of course, there was always their small ongoing argument—Sunny never wanted to be healed because of her Flaw.
But she trusted him. Sunny wasn't that prideful... right? All she had to do was ask, and he'd be forced to tell her the truth.
Yet she didn't want to do that. It felt like taking advantage of him, like striking below the belt. So she let things flow normally.
At least they had finally reached the cave. Thanks to her new Memory, the Ring of Darkness, she could see in the shadows without problem. For now, darkness wasn't a threat.
Of course... there was still the matter of how she had placed the ring next to Sunny's, exactly the way married couples wore them.
Sunny, with his lack of education in the Outskirts, seemed blissfully unaware of what that meant. But Nephis knew perfectly well.
And, being honest with herself, she liked the feeling. Even if they weren't married. Even if it was just a ring.
Nephis drifted too far into her thoughts, but the cave was safe, wasn't it? No danger lurked inside... aside from her and Sunny.
Or so she thought.
Changing Star was mistaken. The real danger, in that moment... was Sunny.
Nephis was lying down on the only tent-bed they shared. She felt satisfied—who would have thought serpent meat could taste that good?
Outside, night had long since fallen, and darkness had swallowed everything inside the cave. Luckily, she still wore the Ring of Darkness; being able to see through the pitch-black void was far too useful. Of course, they could have lit a fire, but it wasn't wise to take such a risk. After all, the creature that prowled these lands bore a name that spoke for itself: the Dark Hunter.
That was when she noticed it. Sunny's footsteps echoed softly, heavy, as though he were dragging an invisible weight. Ever since the battle with the serpent, he had been acting strangely, but now... it seemed worse.
"Sunny, are you all right?" she asked bluntly.
Silence settled over the cave. She watched him closely and caught the faint twitch in his face, that almost imperceptible grimace that betrayed him whenever he fought against his Flaw to avoid answering.
"Neph... yeah, of course. I just... feel kind of hot."
Hot? Nephis thought, puzzled. Could an Awakened really fall ill? It sounded absurd. But with [Fated] in the picture, anything was possible.
She patted the spot beside her, inviting him to sit. A fever wasn't dangerous. What he needed was rest.
Sunny let himself fall down next to her without another word. After a brief silence, he murmured:
"I'll take first watch. You should sleep, Neph."
——
But Nephis couldn't sleep. She closed her eyes, tried to relax, forced herself to believe everything was fine. And yet, something in her remained awake, expectant, as if her instincts already knew something was wrong.
Then she heard it.
A faint murmur, Sunny's deep voice in a whisper dripping with frustration:
"Why are you looking at me like that, idiot? The effect won't go away... damn it."
Nephis cracked her eyes open, just enough to spy without being noticed. At first, she couldn't understand who he was talking to. But the scene before her was as strange as it was unsettling: Sunny was arguing in a low voice with his own shadow.
Irrational behavior... except that, somehow, his shadows seemed to be answering him.
Nephis watched in silence. There was something intimate, vulnerable in the way he looked. It wasn't the first time he'd been forced to converse with the thing that always followed him, but this time... this time felt different.
And then, she heard the confession.
"Because Blood Weave can't neutralize a damn aphrodisiac..." Sunny muttered, his voice thick with frustration.
Nephis's heart skipped a beat. A hot, uneasy feeling bloomed in her chest. Suddenly, she understood what had been making him act so strange, what had turned him so evasive since the battle.
It wasn't an injury. It wasn't a fever. It was something that forced him to fight against himself... against what he felt.
His shadow shrugged mockingly, as though making fun of him. Nephis quickly averted her eyes and shut them tight, feigning sleep. But she could no longer deceive herself. Her breath quickened ever so slightly, and the warmth spreading across her skin didn't come from the ring, nor from the cave.
The danger in that moment wasn't the night.
Nor the nightmare creatures lurking outside.
The true danger was lying right beside her.
Now everything made sense.
Sunny's gaze, heavy with desire.
The way he avoided holding her eyes for too long.
The faint blush on his cheeks.
Nephis, who so rarely indulged in speculation, understood it instantly.
For a moment, she thought of moving closer, of offering help. Maybe her flames could soothe him... though she doubted it. That kind of "heat" didn't seem like something fire could cure.
Then another thought, absurd and dangerous, crossed her mind. A thought that made her press her lips together and stifle a bitter laugh.
Or maybe... she could help him in another way.
Seriously, since when had she been having such thoughts so often? If she could, she would have slapped herself right then and there.
But she didn't have to do anything.
Sunny was the one who moved.
Nephis kept her eyes closed, feigning sleep, relying only on the sound of his footsteps drawing nearer. And then she felt it.
Sunny's hand brushed her cheek with unexpected gentleness. The touch was warm, almost trembling, yet filled with longing.
Nephis's mind went blank.
Damn it, this wasn't the first time they'd done something like this —they were lovers, after all— but feeling it now, in this way... it struck her fully. And the worst, or perhaps the best part, was that she liked it.
The scene reminded her of not so many months ago, before stepping into the Nightmare. Back then, she had been the one to take the initiative, without aphrodisiacs, without excuses.
So what could she possibly complain about now?
Well... the truth was, she didn't want to.
Then she heard something. A whisper, barely audible, as though he feared waking her:
"Nephis... I love you."
Her heart lurched. As much as those words had become familiar between them, they never lost their impact. Especially coming from someone who could never lie. That "I love you" carried a different weight. A beautiful, dangerous edge.
Sunny's hand withdrew from her cheek... only to descend and rest on her bare stomach. His touch, warm now, traced idle circles against her skin.
Nephis felt her own cheeks burn.
Great... now I'm the one who looks affected.
He lingered like that for a couple of minutes, until his breathing grew calmer, as though he was slowly managing to tame the poison within him. Maybe the aphrodisiac was starting to fade. Or maybe he had simply stopped resisting his instincts.
But then Sunny dared to go further. His fingers traced softly along the curves of her hips, toying. The contact was subtle, almost innocent, but for Nephis it was anything but.
When he finally stopped, she thought, just for a fraction of a second:
Really... is that all?
And then she felt it: a kiss, light yet searing, placed upon her stomach.
That was the limit of her self-control.
She could no longer pretend.
Sunny began to pull away, as though he had made a mistake, but Nephis couldn't allow it. Her body, her heart, everything in her screamed otherwise.
She rose firmly and met his eyes. She saw the way he tensed, surprised, uneasy, like a thief caught in the act. And far from stopping her, that only fanned the flame within.
She knew, somehow, that the aphrodisiac had finally left his system. But it didn't matter anymore. After all, they were lovers, weren't they?
Besides, if anyone was worse off than Sunny at that moment... it was her.
Without a single word, she leaned toward him and kissed him. Not a timid or hesitant kiss, but one fierce, passionate, brimming with everything she had held back.
And in the end, both of them surrendered to their instincts.
Nephis and Sunny found themselves in each other's arms, their breaths still a little unsteady after what had felt like an eternity. The warmth of their bodies mingled into a silent refuge, and although the cave was drowned in darkness, the ring on her finger allowed her to see him clearly. She didn't truly need sight, though... she could feel him.
Sunny's steady chest pressed against her own, his heartbeat quickening and then gradually slowing, the hand still resting on her back as if he feared letting her go. Nephis closed her eyes for a moment, letting that sensation envelop her: being there, simply in contact, no masks, no battles, nothing but the two of them.
Silence reigned in the cave, but it wasn't uncomfortable. It was a complete silence, the kind that only existed when two people no longer needed words to understand one another. Even so, a small storm stirred inside Nephis. There was something she wanted to say, something she wanted to ask, but she wavered between desire and doubt.
The soft glow of her inner flames pulsed like an echo of her heart. Her instincts, her very body, begged her to stay like this forever. But her mind, stubborn and clear as always, pushed her to break the calm.
Nephis lifted her face just slightly, enough to meet Sunny's eyes amidst the shadows. In them lingered a trace of the desire that had overtaken him moments before, but also tenderness. That mix disarmed her more than any enemy ever had.
She swallowed hard, her voice caught in her throat.
"Sunny..." she finally whispered, the hesitance strange in her—"there's something I want to ask you."
Her hand clung to him a little tighter, as if speaking those words might risk the warmth they shared.
She saw Sunny's curious gaze settle on her, and he simply answered:
"Yes."
Nephis swallowed again, her lips barely moving as she voiced the question she had carried for so long.
"When... when did you fall in love with me?"
Heat rushed to her face the instant she said it. It was embarrassing, far too intimate—especially knowing Sunny's flaw: he could not lie.
Then she heard it. A small laugh. Light, almost teasing, but not cruel. Nephis felt her stomach tighten. Had she gone too far? Was their relationship moving too fast? Had she ruined the moment? She didn't know... after all, she had always been clumsy with these things.
But then Sunny leaned toward her, close to her ear. His warm voice brushed against her like a breeze.
"Mmm... I don't know. Honestly, I can't tell when I fell in love with you."
Nephis blinked, startled.
"You don't know?"
Sunny smiled with that strange mix of sarcasm and tenderness that only he possessed.
"Who knows... maybe back when we first saw each other on the bridge," he teased. "Though we barely even exchanged a glance that day."
He shrugged, but continued, his tone carrying a disarming ease.
"At first, I felt a little jealous. You could say your true name without danger... and I couldn't even trust my own shadow. And you were always so cold and distant."
Nephis pressed her lips together, unsure if she should feel offended. But Sunny went on, as though his memories were puzzle pieces that refused to fall into a single place:
"Maybe it was when I saw you save Cassie... or when you became my teacher. Or maybe during the journey, when you dragged me out of that Awakened's jaws and kept me from dying." He shook his head with a soft laugh. "I don't know, honestly."
"You don't know..." Nephis echoed under her breath.
"I don't know, Neph," he said gently, and in that instant, playfulness gave way to sincerity.
She nodded slowly. Because, after all, she couldn't pinpoint the moment she had fallen for Sunny either. It was as though he had always been there, waiting for her somewhere in the corners of her heart.
With newfound confidence, she dared to ask another question.
"And... why?"
Sunny hesitated. He thought for a moment, but his flaw forced the truth from him as naturally as breath.
"You really don't know?" he asked with genuine curiosity. Then he sighed. "I went from being a rat from the Outskirts, a guy who trusted no one and had a plan to betray everyone he knew... to what I am now."
The intensity in his eyes made Nephis catch her breath.
"You changed my life, Nephis. You saved me. You forged me, along with Cassie, into the person I am today."
Nephis couldn't help it. A wide, involuntary smile bloomed on her lips, and with it, a deep warmth filled her chest. She had always suspected it... but hearing it in his voice, so raw and unadorned, gave her a warmth she had never known before.