Drip*Drip.
The sweat continued to drip down her body, her hands numb from holding the sword continuously — not to mention every time she had crossed it with Sunny.
The hazy scene in her mind depicted a blank figure standing a few feet in front of her, holding a sword as well.
Her blindfold and clothes were damp from sweat as she continued to breathe hard.
Using whatever strength was left in her whole body, she raised her sword again, and swung at the boy who had grown so close to her heart.
Thud.
The swords fell away from her as her whole body collapsed. Her hands were so numb and weak that when she tried to hold herself up on the ground, her palms just slid to the side on their own, as if protesting against the torture they had been put through.
Her head hit the floor, her legs bent awkwardly while her arms sprawled uselessly, almost like she was prostrating.
Her mother's cries from just hours ago were still fresh in her mind. Her father's steady support pulsed deep in her veins. Her friends — the people she considered family — their happiness, their confidence that she would return…
…Return from a hell that consumed even the deadliest humanity had to offer.
She was supposed to fight. Supposed to survive through a Nightmare.
But this morning, she had seen what true power looked like. She had felt it. A Princess who had stood alone against an army, who had slaughtered creatures like it was nothing. That… was the epitome of power.
The kind she could have had.…Maybe, if she still had her sight.
And here she was. Slumped on the ground. Her whole body screaming in pain, her spirit cracking under the weight of exhaustion.
Her will, once so bright, was slowly shattering. Her mind whispered cruelly in her ear, seeping into her soul: all you're going to do… is die.
Sunny's figure came down next to her. He sat silently in front of her, placing his hand gently on her head.
Subconsciously, she moved toward his touch, trying to steady her breathing. A broken murmur slipped past her lips.
"…It's… n-no use… no…"
It was impossible to tell when the sweat dripping down her face had turned into tears. Slowly, her damp blindfold slipped down onto the floor, her tears trailing down her beautiful face as she whimpered and cried.
"Cas…"
Sunny's voice was quiet, gentle, and filled with concern as he rubbed her head, his fingers combing softly through her golden hair.
Cassie suddenly lifted her head, her dim but beautiful blue eyes glistening with tears as they turned toward him. Droplets ran down her cheeks and neck, trembling under the weight of despair.
"…D-don't you s-see? It-it's… useless… I am… useless…"
She sobbed harder.
Sunny's hands lingered limply at his sides, frozen, doing nothing. For a long moment, he just sat there, his chest tight.
He hated this feeling. Watching someone he cared for fall apart — and not knowing how to piece them back together.
Her sobs cut through him deeper than any blade. Cassie's face, usually radiant with hope and stubborn fire, was streaked with tears, her damp hair sticking to her cheeks, every breath shaking her small frame.
"…Don't you see?" she choked, voice breaking. "It's useless. I'll slow everyone down. I'll… I'll die in there, Sunny. I'll die and drag you all with me…"
Her words dwindled into muffled cries. She curled into herself, like she wanted to disappear into the floor.
Sunny stared at her. Silent. His own chest ached, but not from her words — from what they pulled out of him.
No. Not again.
Without a word, he shifted closer, one knee pressing into the ground. He reached deep into the dark sea of his soul, where fragments of his life lingered like faint embers. One pulsed faintly.
[Nobility of Harrowing Fate]
He had carried it ever since the First Nightmare. Never fully understood it. Always suspicious of its meaning.
"Cassie," he said quietly, his voice steady despite the storm inside. "You're wrong. You're not useless. You're not weak. You just don't have the right tools yet."
His knees were bent in front of him, his hands were cradling her face, even though her face was wet with tears, she still looked so mesmerizing.
Her lashes fluttered, wet with tears, confusion flickering across her face. "W-what…?"
"I have something for you...a memory," Sunny said softly. "But it was never meant for me. It's meant for you. I don't know how it works, I should've given it earlier, but… I also felt a little dangerous, I don't know the effects it has and it could harm you...my First Nightmare was a mess. So much about it is still unclear. I didn't know what this Memory really was. For all I knew, it could have been a curse. But…" His jaw clenched. "But now, I think it'll help you."
Her hand trembled as she reached for his hands. Hesitating. Then, with a deep, shaky breath, she touched his hands on her cheeks, damp from her tears as his thumbs continued to stroke away them.
Both her hands squeezed his hands, finding comfort and care.
Then with a deep breadth, Sunny transferred the memory to her, both of them felt a slight feeling of electricity in their body.
Cassie summoned it immediately, she didn't bother reading the description neither did she read the name, then in a few seconds she felt a cool chain in her hands, she quickly felt it around finding a small bead at the middle.
Her body tensed, her head jerking slightly. Then—
Her world changed.
The haze she had always lived in exploded into clarity. Not in color — but in shape, in structure, in the perfect weave of dimension. Every crack in the stone floor. The way air shifted as Sunny's breath left him. The faintest twitch of his fingers brushing her hair.
The three-dimensional world unfolded before her mind's eye in exquisite detail.
This was far better then before, it seems as if her bracelet memory was enhanced a hundred if not a thousand times, she felt the whole training room around them, there sword lying on the ground a further away, the mannequins, the obstacle course.
Everything.
But she didn't care any of that, her focus was on the person in front of her.
Cassie gasped. Tears welled again — but not from despair this time.
"I… I can see you," she whispered, trembling in awe. "Not like before. Not shadows. Not guesses. I can see you, Sunny. I can see your eyes, the sharp high nose, your lips... Your face, your body… everything. Only the colors are missing but…" She let out a fragile laugh, choked with sobs. "…But I know your hair is black. Your eyes too. You're so warm… so alive."
She lunged forward, collapsing into him, Making them both stumble on the ground. Sunny underneath her, with her arms wrapped desperately around his back, her face pressed against his chest.
"Thank you," she sobbed. "Thank you, Sunny. Thank you…"
Sunny froze, stunned. Then slowly exhaled, shaky but steady enough. His arms closed around her, holding her close.
For once, there was no mask. No jokes. Just Sunny.
"You're not useless, Cassie," he murmured into her hair. "Not now. Not ever. You're one of us. You'll fight. You'll survive. I'll make sure of it."
Her sobs quieted, steadying until she simply clung to him, trembling but no longer breaking. She slowly fell asleep in his arms, as he continued to stroke her hair.
And that was how Nephis found them.
She stepped into the training hall, her now grown short silver hair clinging damply to her brow. Her footsteps faltered. Her grey eyes widened just faintly at the sight: Cassie collapsed into Sunny's chest, his arms wrapped firmly around her, both tangled on the floor in a moment too raw to be mistaken.
For a long moment, Nephis said nothing. The silence stretched, heavy as iron. Only the faint flicker of surprise — then something unreadable — crossed her expression.
She went next to him, Sunny looked at her, noticing her slightly puffed-up cheeks and her strained eyebrows.
She looked at him questioningly, gesturing to Cassie before sitting next to him.
Sunnny sighed wondering what to say.
So he just went directly to the matter.
"I made her cry."
Nephis furrowed her brows, her expression going to a strange one as her hand quietly inched to the sword nearby.
Wait! that came out wrong...also, why are to trying to get the sword!?
"Cas was worried about her ability, after sparring she seemed disheartened from her constant losses...she started crying...I gave her a memory of mine, it seems to help her it seems. I don't know how, but she said she can see now...she hugged me suddenly and here we are."
Bundled in each other's arms like we are lov-
Sunny stopped any superficial thoughts.
Nephis quietly listened to him, her expression unreadable, as she too began stroking Cassie's hair.
Then, in a sudden motion that shocked Sunny to his core, she lay down beside him as well, propping herself up on her elbows and gazing directly into his eyes.
Her face was dangerously close.
Sunny gaped at her. These days, Nephis seemed to be changing the most among them.
Isn't this a little too bold!? Since when did she become so bold?!
Nephis herself didn't know what had come over her. She only knew that when she saw Cassie tangled up with Sunny, something inside her had erupted — a childish, irrational part of her that whined: I want that too...I wanna cuddle too!!
Now, lying beside him, a warmth spread through her veins, and her heart felt like a volcano threatening to explode.
.Sunny's pulse raced. The warmth of Cassie pressed against one side of him; the heat of Nephis lingered on the other. It was suffocating.
Trying to distract himself, he asked, "Why were you late?"
Nephis's gaze didn't waver. "A Sleeper approached me. Brown hair. Green eyes. He seemed to know me from before."
Sunny's expression darkened. "Who?"
She tilted her head slightly. "Castor, of the Han Li Clan. Polite. Careful. He didn't seem suspicious. Considering my clan, I assumed it was normal that he might recognize me."
Sunny's jaw clenched. "If he really knew who you were, he wouldn't have approached. Your clan's glory is gone. You're just another Sleeper now. A Legacy, sure — but with nothing to your name. No one gains anything by being seen at your side."
The words came out blunt, sharp, without malice but without softness either.
Nephis studied him, silent.
Finally, Sunny muttered, "…I'll keep him in mind."
They lapsed into quiet. Nephis shifted slightly closer. Sunny could feel the warmth of both her and Cassie pressing into him, and it was unbearable.
He turned his face away, muttering, "You know, this is highly inappropriate. People would get the wrong idea."
Nephis's lips curved — not quite a smile, but close enough to make his heart trip. "And what idea is that?"
Sunny choked on his words, glaring at her. She didn't move away.
"That we have a strange...relationship."
Nephis inched her face more closer, just next to his ears and replied in a strange tone really different from her monotonous one.
"Dont't we?...And I don't particularly care, if others get the...wrong idea."
Then emphasis on the last words weren't missed by Sunny.
Damnation!!! When did she become so teasing!!?
Before he could reply, Cassie stirred in his arms, blinking awake.
Sunny froze. Nephis slowly sat up, composed once more, though the ghost of that almost-smile lingered.
Cassie rubbed her eyes, still half-asleep, then 'looked' between the two of them, puzzled. "Did I… miss something?"
Sunny groaned. "Nope. Nothing. Absolutely nothing."
Nephis, of course, said nothing. But the faint curve at the corner of her lips betrayed her.