Nephis rested both hands on the helm of the Chain Breaker, feeling the cold, slightly rough wood beneath her fingers.
The ship drifted slowly downstream, gliding across the dark waters of the river of time. The steady sound of water striking the hull filled the silence, while a soft breeze gently stirred her silver hair.
Ahead of her, the river seemed endless.
The waters flowed calmly, as if this forgotten place knew neither haste nor the passage of years.
Nephis narrowed her eyes slightly.
She didn't know exactly why, but she had the strange feeling that their journey through the river of time was coming to an end.
Well... not exactly the end.
But the moment when they would finally reach the small settlement Ananke had told them about.
Fallen Grace.
The name did not inspire much confidence.
Still... in the end, it was just a name.
Nephis adjusted the ship's course slightly, allowing the current to carry the Chain Breaker further downstream.
This part of the journey had been full of emotions.
She had spent a lot of time with Sunny.
Sometimes they simply stayed together on deck, watching the endless river in silence. Other times, they talked about trivial things as the ship continued its slow advance.
Sunny had many funny stories.
And also a few epic adventures Nephis had never heard about—stories from his time in Antarctica and the Dream Realm.
A faint smile appeared on her face at the thought.
She had also told him more about her time in the Desert of Nightmares.
She had opened up more than she expected.
Even if it was difficult, sometimes she spoke about her fears and...
Well.
Her traumas.
Nephis let out a soft sigh.
Who was she trying to fool?
She had a damn therapist.
Of course, she had skipped quite a few sessions...
But that was a small secret.
Strangely, once she had started talking to Sunny, she found it hard to stop.
His presence was comforting.
Just seeing him nearby was enough to calm something deep inside her.
Nephis frowned slightly.
Gods...
Since when had she become some lovestruck princess?
The thought almost made her shiver.
Sometimes, it even scared her a little. She hoped she wouldn't turn into some obsessive, crazy girl like the protagonists of those stories she used to read when she was younger.
What was that genre called?
Nephis tilted her head slightly, thinking.
She had forgotten.
What a shame.
Those kinds of stories had always seemed fun to her.
...Which, honestly, was a little concerning.
She would have to look them up again once she got out of here.
The faint smile slowly disappeared from her face as another thought surfaced.
Cassie.
Nephis tightened her grip on the helm.
The conversation she had with Sunny a few weeks ago returned to her mind.
After going to sleep that night, the next morning they had both acted as if that conversation had never happened.
A habit her therapist had explicitly said was not healthy.
Nephis let out a quiet sigh.
Although, thinking about it...
Sunny probably needed a therapist.
Or two.
Maybe even more than she did.
When they got out of this nightmare, she would tell him.
Her fingers tapped lightly against the wood of the helm as she thought.
So... what should she do now?
The book her therapist had recommended said she should support her friends emotionally whenever she could.
Well...
They were a couple.
But they were also friends.
So it counted, right?
Actually, it sounded like a good idea.
For now, all they had to do was continue downstream until they reached Fallen Grace.
And, honestly...
Nephis was enjoying this small moment of peace.
She had spent quite some time with Sunny on the giant turtle.
Then they traveled downstream together.
Even the terrifying dark island they had encountered weeks ago had only lasted a few days.
It was strange.
Almost ironic.
Nephis gazed at the quiet horizon of the river.
She felt more at peace now, in the tomb of a demon dead for millennia, than she ever had in the waking world.
Well...
It probably helped that she had spent the last seven months almost entirely alone with Sunny.
That had pushed their relationship to a deeper level of trust.
She had learned a lot about him.
How to understand him better.
And, as a result... how to understand herself better.
In fact, she no longer felt quite as clumsy with emotions.
Of course...
She still was.
And probably always would be.
But progress was still progress.
Although...
There was one rather big problem now that their relationship had deepened.
Nephis blinked.
Then stared at the river, as if the dark waters might hold an answer.
She...
Well.
In short...
She wanted to explore more about passion.
The thought made her tense slightly.
But that wasn't the only problem.
Nephis was... greedy.
Effie was largely to blame.
As well as her own traitorous mind.
After all those jokes about restoring the glory of the Immortal Flame...
And the recurring dreams she had of a girl with gray eyes and black hair...
The idea was becoming... tempting.
Nephis almost choked on the thought.
Not just because she imagined it.
But because it was completely foolish to even consider having a child before achieving her goal.
Bringing someone into a world this cruel, ruled by the Three Sovereigns and the Nightmare Spell...
No.
First, she would defeat the Sovereigns.
Only then could she even think about having children.
Besides...
She didn't even know if Sunny wanted children.
They hadn't had that conversation yet.
With that thought, her mind finally settled a little.
First, they would defeat the Sovereigns.
Then...
Children.
It was a simple order.
Clear.
Something that helped keep her grounded.
Nephis turned the helm slightly as the Chain Breaker continued drifting downstream.
The wind blew softly.
The water struck the hull in a steady, calming rhythm.
For a moment, everything seemed peaceful.
Too peaceful.
On the riverbank, something moved.
A figure stood among the shadows, watching the ship pass by.
It was thin.
Disheveled.
And smiling.
The smile was too wide.
Too twisted.
Its eyes were fixed on Nephis.
And the face it wore...
was exactly her own.