"I'm starting to miss good old Kai." Sunny sighed before taking another bite of the cooked meat.
Nephis was at his side as they ate together. She gave him a look that others would see as threatening, but that was mostly from the dried blood on her face and muddied eyelashes. They hadn't cleaned up from their last battle which had taken a lot out of them, and Saint was resting and healing in his soul. She got the worst of it while they fought a group of awakened demons and a tyrant of the same rank. She would probably need to stay there for half a week before she was battle-ready. He and Nephis weren't saved from being hurt either as they both lost a couple of limbs - mostly Nephis as her battle style requires it unlike his, and he liked having his limbs attached - during the clash.
"I mean, if we told him all about our adventures from now he would have a stroke. I would pay a transcended soul shard to see that again."
"... I just think you hate Kai for having a flying aspect and always looking good, and that time he called you a hikikomori."
"Well, it's not my fault for being a hik... whatever it's called! I was too busy trying to survive while that fool had it nice in his mansion with his butlers and unlimited cash." Sunny argued.
She looked at him like she was seeing a poor dog, pity, before turning away without giving a response. Sunny scoffed before spitting out the meatless bone onto a tray.
"Anyway it doesn't matter we'll be out of here soon anyway. We've only got about a month's worth of walking left before we reach the damn seed." Sunny then looked at her seriously.
"I haven't asked you yet but what exactly happens in a second nightmare?"
Nephis was deep in thought as she finished her bone before replying, "the second nightmare... is fundamentally different from the first."
Sighing, she continued as her face showed a scowl.
"In a second nightmare, the cohort will not be in their original bodies, instead they take up one already inside the nightmare. So, the first thing you should do is try to get in control of your new body as not doing so will most likely get you killed. After that, we'll need to conquer the nightmare by resolving a conflict happening throughout it, after we find each other of course." Nephis ended by throwing her bone near his.
Sunny thought about the new information, new since he didn't know what the second nightmare contained because ignorance was bliss at times, before asking.
"Wait how will we know if it's the other if we're in different human bodies?"
Nephis looked at him thoughtfully before responding, "I'll be wearing our rings, their size should adjust itself to fit us. The spell will naturally try to find the body most similar to ours so just look for people who look similar to me."
Nephis looked him over, "although I'm sure the spell will find it easy to find you a body. Scrawny, short, and cunning, the spell will have a field day choosing you a body."
"Ouch, that's uncalled for, Neph, but I can't deny that the spell probably will."
Nephis blinked rather surprised, "sorry I meant it as a compliment. Normally the spell will struggle to find a suitable body for the challenger, but I doubt you'll have much trouble fitting into your new body. I would though, most likely."
Sunny knew how much Nephis hated the spell and told him how she found its voice mocking, and he couldn't deny that perhaps the spell had it out for her. The spell had forced her hair to be silver white - which he honestly found pretty - and was the main reason why her family was all dead. There was also the fact that it plunged an already dying world into a deeper and more dreadful land, but, details.
"Let's just get some sleep for tomorrow," Sunny said finally after they finished cleaning up. Sunny once again summoned his majestic bed before throwing himself on the covers.
Their base wasn't exactly the safest place anymore considering they were in a hollowed-out hole inside a tree that most likely another creature used as its home. Nothing was stopping it from coming back either, so Sunny was on high alert during their stay. Finally feeling some stress relieved by the soft fabric of the velvet colored blankets Sunny commanded his shadows to guard them as they soon slept for the night.
Once they woke up and packed up they moved out and started traveling. Sunny then started to recall a memory that sent shivers down his spine.
'I definitely won't miss the rain, especially after that...'
***
Sunny and Nephis were traversing the land like any other day, but of course, it wasn't like every other day, in fact none of the days were the exact same. Turns out not only does it rain acid, but also random crack-like earthquakes can happen in seconds, tearing and opening up the land. Sunny had almost fallen into one of them a few days earlier if Nephis hadn't caught him with [Evertwine]. It wasn't common but it wasn't rare either, mostly happening once every few days. Extreme droughts also happened but it didn't affect them since they had a near-endless water source - may the gods bless Cassie for giving him the memory - so they weren't affected by the lack of water and dead grass. But those weren't the only extreme weather events that happened...
In fact, they were experiencing another one as they were desperately climbing up a tree at the moment trying to reach higher ground.
"Come on Sunny!" Nephis yelled as Sunny climbed the rope she was holding on to a higher branch than him.
"I'm trying!" Sunny yelled back as the water was closing in on him as it Ross, threatening to consume him.
It reminded Sunny of how the Dark Sea came up every night and consumed the labyrinth with its watery horrors. Nephis called it a flash flood, he called it a flimsy imitation of the Dark Sea. potato, potahto.
Soon he grabbed her hand as she pulled him up the branch before both of them falling on their butts, luckily the branch was wide enough to do that without falling. Of course though if it were normal water they wouldn't be in this much of a hurry up, even if there were creatures that swam up from mysterious holes in the ground. Instead, it was acid water so if they fell into the water... they would be bones in seconds.
Sunny had fashioned a non-memory light wooden umbrella from the trees that seemed to be unaffected by the corrosive effect of the rain. Nephis and Sunny had to use it so as not to be burned by the rain. Even with the umbrella, he still felt the acid pelting his back and starting to burn into [Puppeteer Shroud]. The wind picked up even more as now both of them had to hold onto the umbrella, lest they want to brave the storm without one, to which they would most likely have serious facial injuries and Nephis would have to heal them both afterward.
'And who would want to put their girlfriend in extra pain anyway?'
An upward gust suddenly hit them as Nephis' grip on the umbrella loosened. By all physics it shouldn't have been possible... but suddenly Sunny found himself being 20 feet above Nephis.
'Damnationnnnn!' Sunny yelled internally as he felt himself picking up speed and being pulled even more up. Simply letting go was no longer an option as if he did... well he'll be flattened like a pancake before Nephis could heal or catch him. Luckily, he simply conjured up another heavier shadow umbrella and let go of the wooden one. He felt himself fall into a soft descent as he watched the wooden umbrella fly up in the air before dipping into the acid water that flooded the lower tree. After a few moments, Nephis caught him by the waist before grabbing the umbrella from him and holding him tightly, and giving him an awkward attempt at a smile.
"Sorry, I lost my grip."
"N-no s-s-shit," Sunny said as he shivered from both the pain of the acid finally breaking through the cloth and from the cold.
Who knew acid could be freezing cold while burning you?
Eventually, the storm passed and they waited until the water seeped into the ground before continuing on their journey.
***
Smiling, they continued walking until another memory popped up into Sunny's mind which almost made him laugh. Although he held it back since he wasn't trying to get into another fight with any more creatures than they had to.
'Gods, she really loves to blow up...'
***
Nephis and Sunny were sitting under a tree... and yes, they were kissing. Nephis held Sunny's face as a blush appeared in his porcelain-like face. She took the initiative this time around because... well she just wanted attention.
'Gods, please let this last...' she prayed mentally as she pulled away from him as he gasped for air.
She would be lying if she said she wasn't enjoying spending all this time with him. After all, she never really felt like she belonged anywhere, unless it was with Sunny. They had spent almost a year together with no contact with any other humans - excluding the brief minutes Sunny spent with Cassie - and yet they were still mentally sane. She had been taught that in the dream realm no one survives alone, and she was no exception to that rule. Even so... fate could not have chosen a better person to stay by her side than Sunny.
They were sitting under a tree taking a quick break since Sunny's shadows were scouting ahead for any dangers like corrupted creatures or tyrants. She doubted there were any Titans but she made sure to tell the shadows to watch out for any Titans. The higher the rank creatures are, the less importance being intangible was, and the protection it offered. The only creature they had faced yet that affected his shadows was the artificial sun back in the Forgotten Shore. But that didn't mean they could start getting cocky.
Nephis pulled Sunny onto her lap and made him wrap his arms around her waist as she held him by the shoulders.
"Shouldn't this be reversed?" Sunny asked embarrassed.
"Does it matter?"
"No, I guess not, but I feel my dignity fading."
"Weren't you the one who said dignity gets you killed and acting all tough in the Dark City?"
"That doesn't mean I don't have any!"
"So almost dying in a ditch is okay but when I cuddle with you now your dignity is on the line?"
"Touche, I'll admit defeat Star of Ruin."
"Just because I blew up one time does not mean-" Sunny moved his left arm off her waist and pushed it against her mouth.
"Yes it does," he said in a matter-of-fact voice.
Nephis sighed and simply pulled him closer. Eventually, he told her the coast was clear so they got up - begrudgingly of course, more from Nephis than Sunny but to him it didn't seem so - and started walking forward. Nephis grabbed Sunny's hand, and being bored she opened her runes.
Name: Nephis.
True Name: Changing Star.
Rank: Dreamer
Class: Devil
Soul Cores: [4/7]
Soul Fragments: [2349/4000]
Memories: [Dream Blade], [Evertwine], [Starlight Legion Armor], [Dawn Shard], [Dark Wing], [Nameless Sun]...
And a few other utility memories she owned.
Echoes: —
Attributes: [Dreamspawn], [Nephilim], [Flame of Divinity], [The Fire]
Aspect: [Light Bringer].
Aspect Rank: Divine.
Aspect Description: [...]
Innate Ability: [Halfbreed].
Ability Descriptions: [...]
Aspect Ability: [Soul Flame].
Ability Description: [...]
Flaw: [Pristine Soul]
Flaw Description: [...]
Aspect Legacy: [Memory of Light]
Aspect Legacy Description: [In the lightless and sorrow-filled city, a bright star let out its full radiance. In the aftermath, fruits of knowledge were all that remained for the longing star.]
Knowledge of Fire: Unearned
Knowledge of ???: Unearned
Knowledge of ???: Unearned
...
'It feels so long ago since I've been a Demon.'
Nephis had destroyed her devil core to free herself from the cell back in the city. There, she also unlocked her Aspect Legacy and just like Sunny she hadn't earned the first knowledge yet. Although, she felt like she was close to unlocking it, but was missing something. She had an inkling of a feeling it had to do with her ability to explode by crushing her cores as fuel but what exactly it was, she didn't know, and she may not know for a long time. If she followed Sunny's example it took him around a year before he unlocked the first step of Shadow Dance.
Either way, she knew she didn't have a year to figure it out so she would leave it on the back burner and make it future Nephis's problem to figure out.
"Damnation." Sunny cursed as he came to a stop, "up ahead is a Fallen Tyrant and its minions. Its leader is a butterfly, if a butterfly had sharp teeth and its antenna pointy enough to pierce us without struggle. The minions are basically smaller versions of it and it seems like their mostly in the Awakened Beast-Demon range."
"Then summon Saint and let's kill them," Nephis said as she summoned [Dream Blade].
"I was hoping not to dirty my shroud today but I guess that's not happening," Sunny said with regret as he summoned his signature daggers.
Soon enough loud clashing, fighting, and deafening noises rang out throughout some part of the forest. Sunny and Nephis fought off the minions while Saint personally fought one-on-one with the tyrant. Sunny was sure that Saint would come out on top, but only if they prevented the members from helping their leader. So they both went over the top to try and stop the hurdle that was to give Saint a fair fight. Sadly, it was difficult to hold off the swarm and at times they got past them and rushed to help their tyrant which Saint had to disengage for a moment to kill it.
After killing half the minions another tyrant appeared with its own hoard of minions. Its tyrant was moose-shaped with antlers made of a shining metal and its body was covered in dark-hued red-white fur. Its minions seemed to resemble deers, with some having antlers while others did not have them. They had a brightish white green color to their fur.
'She might be a problem.' Sunny said telepathically to her as he continued slaying the butiflies' minions.
'He,' Nephis responded, 'only male mooses have antlers.'
'... stop flexing your legacy knowledge on me.'
Nephis only shrugged, which she was sure he sensed by her shadow, as she continued to slaughter the minions. She hoped that both the tyrants would fight each other and kill each other, but sadly like how it is every time they pushed back their madness against each other and pushed it towards the two - probably tasty to them - humans as their armies merged. If there was one advantage to the situation, it was that the armies didn't exactly act like a single mind as some of them trampled over each other as the butifiles tried to go low to pierce them. The downsides of the two armies merging though were that they'll probably die.
'Sunny when I say now, create a shadow ball around you. I have a plan.'
'Does it involve Tahiti?'
'What? How is that relevant?'
'Dunno, saw it in a meme once on my mom's broken communicator from the old times.'
Nephis didn't respond - mostly because she almost long an arm from the chit chat - as she got ready with her plan. It was really simple, but she hated it nonetheless. Her plan... was to blow up again. She felt her Devil start to break as Sunny took a moment to look at her and saw cracks start forming in her core. Of course, though he knew exactly what was happening since she had told him everything, and so when Nephis told him now he was already ready with his pre-summoned shadows from [Shadow Lantern].
After that... she once again blew up her Devil core to smithereens.
'Poor Devil core,' Suny thought as he felt the shadows start to burn from the heat. His shadows all nodded their heads as if saying they agreed with him, probably because if his cores shattered they would disappear.
Soon the explosion ended and as Sunny dispanded the shadows he went into a coughing fit from the lack of oxygen in the air as his lungs struggled to get any. After a few moments, he could breathe normally again and saw Nephis breathing heavily sprawled on the ground with one of her arms cut off. He also noticed that both tyrants and their armies were wiped out and the surrounding area was burnt to a crisp or burned.
"Not a single-"
"Not a single one... Star of explosion."
***
Suddenly Nephis's hand smacked into his stomach, and because he was busy recalling his memories, he was unprepared and almost collapsed to the ground from getting the air knocked out of him.
"What the hell was that for?" Sunny scowled.
"Look ahead, and stop daydreaming," Nephis said sternly as he turned to look at what she said.
Up ahead a ruined temple similar to the one he found up the mountain in his first nightmare, except this one wasn't up a mountain and neither was it freezing. The temple was run down and covered thick with tough vines as if it lay dormant and forgotten for a long time. It was similar in structure to the one from the mountain, although he couldn't pierce through the building with his shadow senses like back in the city where they were then ambushed.
"I can't gather much information, something about it is blocking my senses..."
"Then let's go inside."
"Are you crazy? You want to go inside a creepy temple that will probably almost kill us?"
"The more information we get about this region, the better prepared we'll be for the seed. So yes, I say we should take our chances since we won't have a seer to inform us about the future or gather information."
"Fine, hopefully there's something useful then."