"I did? That's great!"
Nephis wasn't great at reading people's moods by their voice but she was an expert in reading Sunny, and she could tell Sunny was positively surprised by his other self's accomplishment.
She felt around with her hands, confirming that Cassie had fallen asleep. Her staff was now held by Sunny, creating a strong wind that carried them to the west.
"Yes, you did", Nephis repeated. "I think the gaps in my memory that I told you about are the cause of your escape. You see, after our third nightmare the cohort seemed to have experienced a memory loss — no one of us could remember you. In fact, no one in the world could. We did become allies and even lovers after that, but none of us got to truly know you again."
"Huh?"
Nephis could tell that Sunny was surprised. Of course he was. She continued.
"So whatever it was that occurred in our third nightmare gave you the means to escape the shadow bond, but it also made you an outcast. Your whole existence was erased. When I came back here it was the first time in five years I could even think about what you had been to us — to me..."
Nephis thought about what to say next but Sunny beat her to it.
"What are you trying to say? That I should not seek freedom at whatever cost just because it may hurt your feelings?"
"Not exactly. I was just informing you about potential consequences of such an action."
Sunny scoffed. "You make it seem like such a big deal but you fail to realize that it is still the smaller of the two evils. Besides, as of now I don't have many people who could forget me. And I'm sorry, but I really wouldn't be sad if you forgot me — scratch that. I'm not sorry about it. It's what you deserve."
Nephis was taken aback. He opened her mouth but Sunny gave her no time.
"We are in an impasse, that I give you. I need your help to get out of this hell. But do not mistake it for anything else. If you think yourself noble you should help me in breaking this bond, not oppose me."
"And I will help you", Nephis said. "But not at the cost of — of everything. It would be — " She was about to say it would be selfish by him, but that would have angered Sunny even further. Besides, Sunny was selfish, at least most of the time. He knew it himself and wasn't bothered by it. She couldn't use it as an argument.
"What would it be?"
"It would be a fate worse than death. You might not have many friends yet but you will have them like you had them last time. I know you suffered because of your decision then and I won't let you suffer it again. Not when I can prevent it!" She had to consciously avoid raising her voice — they well still on the boat after all.
"Would you use shadow bond to stop me?" Sunny asked.
Nephis shook her head. "You do not know me if you think I would."
Sunny just scoffed again. "It doesn't matter now. We're far away from the third nightmare. And besides, who's to say I want to become saint this time. Why bother?"
Nephis said nothing to that.
*******
Cassie woke up when the boat hit the land.
They had been going at quite a speed, it seemed, because the collision sent her sprawling on the bottom of the boat. She somehow managed to catch herself before her face hit the floor, but there was a sharp pang of pain in her wrist as well as in her right knee. She crouched low, disoriented (as if she wasn't disoriented enough already). She always hated this — being unable to see what was going on. Would she ever become used to it?
Seconds passed and nothing seemed to be amiss. Cassie concluded that they had reached an island, or maybe even the far side of the great crater. That was good news... But she couldn't really concentrate on them. Her mind was far too preoccupied with everything else.
She hadn't told Sunny or Neph (they both had enough to think as it was), but her visions had been very strange lately. So strange in fact that she couldn't even think about all of them. It was as if the visions that were being shown belonged to a higher being — like they were supposed to be shown to someone who had the capacity to understand them, unlike her. Maybe that someone was her future counterpart.
A hand took hold of hers and helped her up. It was Neph's hand and Cassie could feel its cool texture acutely. Nephis helped her over the edge of the boat where her feet could touch a stone surface.
"We're almost to the city... " Nephis whispered. "We will go there tomorrow."
Cassie frowned. "That's great. But... the the gateway is not in the city, is it?" She had suspected for some time now that the salvation wouldn't be so close as she had originally thought. She still had a sliver of hope, but it was small. And Nephis took no time in crushing her hopes permanently.
"It is not. We still have much work to do before conquering the gateway. But the castle is at least safe. Not that we will tarry there for long."
"What will we do, then?"
"Form our cohort." Cassie could detect a hint of eagerness in Neph's tone and she supposed it was only expected — she would be seeing her long-lost friends for the first time in this life. She wondered what kind of people they were. Obviously they would be powerful warriors, but what about the comradery? What would the atmosphere of the cohort be like? Would there be funny banter or competitiveness or would they be grim and effective like Nephis herself was? Cassie hoped for the former...
"Who are they?" she asked, eager to learn more and to distract herself further from her visions. She didn't really want to go to sleep. Truthfully, she feared she would see something her mind couldn't handle.
"One of them is a woman named Athena... she is currently a lone hunter in the Dark City and she has a strong physical Aspect. She will be of great help in the battle. Other one is an archer... He was once named Dragonslayer. I think you will like him."
The last part confused Cassie. "Really?"
"Yes."
Cassie thought over Neph's words and flinched.
Did I also have a boyfriend in the future? Is he that archer? Damn it, Neph! She couldn't just drop hints like that and act like nothing had happened.
Cassie was suddenly very disturbed but also strangely excited. Nephis hadn't said anything about her personal life, let alone love life... until now.
Could it be...
As she pondered about what Nephis's words meant, something clicked unexpectedly. It was him! The mysterious archer from her vision! And the woman with the bronze spear... that had to be Athena.
Things were coming together. But would they follow the lines of her vision — that she wasn't sure of. How much would the events change?
When the morning came again they got to the ground and started walking uphill. Cassie learned that they were scaling the edge of the giant crater. The terrain was hard — or at least it was hard for her. Again she was reminded of the grim reality of her situation. She had a semblance of control when she could simply sit and think and plan, but every time they moved from one place to another the reality came back to bite. It was infinitely frustrating, but that was something she couldn't say. She already was a burden — she didn't want to also annoy the very people her life depended on.
In academy she had been isolated, but that had changed when she had found Sunny and Nephis (or, well, Nephis had found them both). But now she felt isolated once more. Nephis and Sunny were both powerful warriors and, despite their squabbles, like-minded people. Cassie on the other hand was weak and timid. Her only power was in her visions - and those she couldn't share with others. No, she had to bury her frustration, her shame and every other negative emotion deep inside her. At times it felt suffocating. She wondered what would change if she someday got her awakened — or even ascended — abilities. Would they reduce the strain she put on others?
"Cassie, we're here. You can cling to me."
Nephis offered her help and she couldn't really refuse it. Cassie swallowed her pride and held onto the legacy as she climbed the city wall. Sunny and Nephis had briefly described everything as they walked so Cassie had quite a good picture of the place around them. She had even been notified when Sunnyhad killed a strange rock creature that somehow was an awakened monster.
"We're on the wall now. The city is exactly like you said; it is mostly in ruins and there are monsters walking on the streets... " Sunny painted the picture before them and Cassie dearly wished she could see it. It must have looked magnificent... As would most of the places they had been through, probably. What a waste.
"We can reach the castle before the nightfall. Then we will pay for the rooms and discuss things further."
Again they swept Cassie with them. Before long they were walking on the streets of the city, speaking only with a whisper. Sunny was a scout as usual and Nephis pointed them to the right direction. She appearently knew all of the city, having hunted there for a long time in her last life. That knowledge came in handy, and they only had to fight one time, against a measly awakened monster. By now both Nephis and Sunny were strong enough to easily take one down, especially when working together. Cassie was amazed at what they had accomplished, but then again they did have divine aspects. Based on Neph's story they were pretty much the strongest awakened in history so it made sense they would do impossible things from time to time.
Finally she started to recognize voices, people speaking in hushed tones. The sound made something warm bloom in her chest. They were once again in the company of humans! Quiet footsteps echoed all around, and at the same time Sunny leaned in and whispered: "We are in the outskirts of the castle now." His voice betrayed his unease and Cassie suddenly remembered that he had lived in the outskirts in the waking world.
"Oh, brings back memories... "
"Are we going to the castle?" Cassie asked.
"Yes. Take my hand."
They marched upwards and the road beneath them changed. She felt the stench of the slums be left behind and wondered suddenly how she herself smelled. All three of them must have reeked horribly...
They encountered two of the guards and made their way into the castle. Immediately the echo of their steps changed and the air became a bit warmer. Cassie could not help but feel a profound sense of safety for the first time in months — even if it was not exactly truthful, given what Nephis had told them about the castle as they walked through the city. She sighed happily.
I wonder where that mysterious archer is...
"You must be terribly tired", said the young man who was giving them the tour of the castle. "Let me show you to your rooms."
"Yes, that would be much appreciated", Nephis answered. "We'll take two rooms."
Before long they were cocooned in the warmth of their new, temporary home. Cassie took the time to clean herself and after that got to enjoy the luxury of a good bed after countless nights of sleeping on a rock. She sighed again, this time wistfully. How long would it take to be back home where she could always sleep like this?
Maybe it would be a month or a couple of moths. Maybe it would be never...
Cassie was happy, she was tired and she was mournful. But for a split second before her visions took her to someplace far away, she was once again scared.
*******
AN: This chapter took more time than others, so apologies... and I don't think it's as good as others, either. But that's just reality of writing. I was wondering, do you like Cassie's POV:s or not? I think they are interesting, but at the same time not as interesting as Neph or Sunny because not much is happening...