Cold, salty water enveloped him and darkness blinded him. With the pain from his wounds burning, Sunny pushed himself deeper, guided only by his sense of shadows. He could feel the presence of giant tentacles twisting around him, but there was no sign of Cassie. As he dove deeper, the pressure became unbearable.
That's when his sense of shadows detected a small shape struggling against a much larger one: it was Cassie. With a burst of fury, Sunny swam toward her, summoned the Midnight Shard, and with an agonizing effort, severed the tentacle dragging her down.
As he grabbed the girl's unconscious, icy body, Sunny realized his own desperation. His lungs burned and the air was running out, while the monster, sensing their presence, surrounded them with an impenetrable barrier of flesh. There was no escape. Just as suffocation was about to overcome them, a white, incandescent glow emerged from the depths. The light flooded the abyss, causing the tentacles to writhe and the barrier to crumble.
Without wasting a second, Sunny seized the opportunity. With his last ounce of strength and his consciousness fading, he swam desperately toward the surface, dodging the monster's remains. Finally, his head broke the surface. He coughed and gasped, barely conscious.
Trying to pull himself together, Sunny looked around. The last remnants of the white glow had long since disappeared, erased as if they had never existed. The world was once again plunged into absolute darkness.
However, in the distance, to the east, the first light of dawn was about to shine beyond the horizon. Upon glimpsing the giant stone hand, Sunny grabbed Cassie by the shoulders and swam in that direction.
Sunny felt a sense of déjà vu. Back in the dark sea, he grabbed Cassie again, determined to escape once more.
His body and mind were about to shut down. Despite this, Sunny kept swimming stubbornly, getting closer and closer to Cassie and the gigantic stone hand rising above the water, as if trying to embrace the sky.
The dark sea churned around them, still reeling from the effects of the explosion of light that had shaken it moments before. High waves threatened to drown the two Sleepers, tossing them back and forth as if they were toys. Fighting against them was a difficult task. And yet he persisted.
Sunny finally managed to reach the stone hand. He lifted Cassie, who was unconscious at this point. Soon they reached the open palm and crawled to its center, where they fell to the ground, completely exhausted and spent.
Their refuge was slightly elevated above the waves, the base of the giant thumb almost touching the surface of the dark sea. The palm wasn't very spacious, about half the size of the circular platform that had saved his life on his first day on the Forgotten Coast. It sloped upward, creating a slight incline. The fingers were higher above the waves and wide enough to accommodate a person, but they were bent upward toward the sky, making them less suitable as a shelter.
But he didn't allow himself the luxury of resting just yet. In agonizing pain, he turned and dropped down next to Cassie. He turned her onto her back and felt for her pulse. An immense relief washed over him when he felt her heart, weak but beating. He placed a hand near her nose to check if she was breathing.
"Shit."
She wasn't breathing. Sunny had received basic instructions on what to do in such cases from Professor Julius. He thanked that man and his class; if he hadn't attended his class, he would most likely have died shortly after at the cut throat of the stone giant.
Pushing those thoughts aside, he focused on the instructions he had been taught. He placed one hand on Cassie's forehead, gently lifted her chin with the other, and tilted her head back to open her airway. Then he closed her nose with his fingers to prevent air from escaping.
The memory of her kiss was still fresh in his mind. He felt a twinge of embarrassment, but this was no time to be shy. He filled his lungs with air and opened the girl's mouth. He sealed his mouth against hers and began to blow. He felt her chest rise—it was working. He gave her two slow breaths. He repeated the process two more times. Fear began to undermine his mind.
'Am I doing it wrong?'
His shoulders tensed and his expression darkened when he saw that her skin was paler than usual, with a sickly tone, and her lips were blue.
'Don't get distracted, stupid.'
His hands trembled. He kept pushing air into her lungs. With each attempt, he became more and more frightened. Now he contemplated the idea that had never been up for discussion: what would he do if she died? He had always imagined himself dying horribly, but he had never considered the idea of her dying before him. He wasn't prepared.
"Please, Cassie, I love you," he begged fearfully, before continuing to blow.
And as if the world had finally taken pity on his miserable life, water began to pour out of Cassie's mouth as she coughed violently. Instinctively, she tried to turn over.
"Cassie!" Sunny shouted in relief.
He held her and helped her turn over so she could expel the water from her lungs. She coughed violently and fought painfully to catch her breath. Sunny held her as she vomited water and foam. Her whole body shook in reaction.
After the torturous and deadly experience, Cassie slowly recovered. Her throat and lungs were sore, but when it was bearable enough, still shaking, she spoke.
"Is that you, Sunny?"
Her voice was low, almost a whisper. It wasn't her usual tone; it was hoarse and shaky. Enduring the torrent of feelings inside him, he caressed her shoulders and replied in the calmest voice he could muster at that moment.
"Yes, it's me."
There was silence for what seemed like hours, but it was no more than a minute. Cassie lowered her head and a broken giggle escaped her.
"I told you... You're always the one who saves me."
Sunny didn't answer. Instead, he slowly pulled her toward him. His action had an immediate reaction on the blonde girl: tears fell from her eyes, almost camouflaged by their bodies soaked in salt water. She cried silently, clinging tremblingly to him.
Sunny's consciousness began to falter. He was about to give in to sleepiness, but he opened his eyes at a great detail. Where was Nephis?
He stood up abruptly, pushing Cassie away. He turned around and searched urgently for any sign of Nephis.
'That glow in the water... Was that her? That means she fought that thing. She can't still be alive, it's impossible... right?
His body reacted before his mind and he was already at the edge of the stone surface, ready to dive into the water. He swallowed hard and trembled with fear. The experience he had just gone through was more than traumatic. He had not yet recovered from the extreme stress he had experienced, but Sunny prepared himself to jump.
There, at the base of the giant thumb, where the cursed sea almost touched its stone surface, a pale, white hand emerged from the black water and grabbed hold of the rocks. Then, a tall figure slowly pushed itself toward the open palm of the stone giantess. Sunny turned toward the sound and his eyes widened. He was relieved to see her back.
Sunny realized that Nephis was not well. In fact, he couldn't understand how she was still alive. Her armor was shattered, revealing devastating wounds. Her torso had such a severe open wound that she appeared to have lost almost half of her right side. She had another large chunk of flesh torn from her thigh, leaving the bone exposed. Her right arm hung down, almost severed. Even her face was unrecognizable, with one eye missing and the skin on her cheek mutilated. It was clear that she was about to die.
As Nephis staggered and fell, her broken femur shattered, causing her indescribable pain. Sunny, horrified and speechless, watched helplessly as two white flames ignited in Nephis' eyes. An incandescent glow poured from her wounds, transforming her blood into liquid fire that healed and reshaped her.
As Sunny stared in amazement, Nephis tore off her nearly severed arm and pressed it against her body, joining the two parts together. The purifying fire healed all her wounds, leaving her skin immaculate. However, when Nephis looked up, there was no recognition in her eyes. All understanding had been erased by the "holy fire." Finally, the last daughter of the Immortal Flame clan fell to the ground, losing consciousness just as dawn broke.
"Sunny? Why aren't you answering?" Cassie's voice, almost inaudible, called out to him. He finally noticed her, snapping him out of his state of shock.
"I'm sorry, I just... I was stunned."
He picked up Nephis's body and dragged her to a higher place, where Cassie was. Finally, he sat down. He was too exhausted to do anything else. With his last ounce of strength, he turned to look at Cassie. He admired her, alive and safe. With that, he finally passed out from exhaustion, but made sure his head fell into Cassie's lap.
"I deserve this," was his last thought.
He woke up the next day. He didn't want to open his eyes. His whole body ached. "Just five more minutes..." The exquisite pillow was soft and fluffy. He rubbed his head against the surface; it was divine. Something grabbed his head and caressed it. He sensed that it was hands. Even so, he persisted with his eyes closed.
"Good morning, Sunny."
They even wished him good morning. Even so, he refused to start the day. But he was faced with a grim reality: he was unable to fall back asleep. He sighed mentally and reluctantly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a head of golden hair and the clear sky. Moving his head slightly, there was Cassie, smiling, looking down at him, right where he was: on her lap.
"Good morning, Cassie."
Finally, he got up from his divine pillow and sat down next to her. He noticed that Nephis had not yet recovered and was still sleeping. He composed himself and sat down next to Cassie.
"Hey, can you explain what happened?"
Sunny explained how, after the ship succumbed to the tentacle attack, he went to rescue her and how Nephis returned a mutilated corpse. The experience was still fresh in his memory, sending shivers down his spine as he recalled it.
When he finished, there was no continuation of the conversation. They both remained silent, side by side, for several minutes.
'Finally, a moment of tranquility, not a false sense of peace disturbed by a damn tree. Wasn't this the moment he wanted to have with her?'
'Shit, then why am I so fucking nervous...?'
Sunny reviewed the situation. They were alone. Nephis wouldn't wake up until later. They couldn't move from the stone hand now either. It was a golden opportunity. Sunny coughed discreetly before speaking.
"Well, tell me, how do you feel?"
"Before, my whole chest hurt a lot. It still does, but not as badly. The most unbearable thing at first was the salty taste. I rinsed my mouth with more water from the eternal spring, but it still lingered. I think I'm fine now," she spoke calmly in a neutral tone.
"And you?"
"I feel like I've been hit by a truck, but that's normal, so don't worry. So, I guess I'm fine."
She nodded silently, and the atmosphere returned to calm.
'She must still be processing everything. Maybe I shouldn't bring it up yet... No, I can't put it off any longer.'
'This is going to be complicated...'
"Tell me, Cassie, what do you remember?"
She lifted her head and turned to look at him. "What exactly?"
"When we were under the tree..."
"It's confusing and blurry, but I think I remember most of it."
"I see." Sunny braced himself for the difficult conversation ahead. He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with air before continuing.
"Do you remember what I said to you before we left?"
"Yes, I do. Why?" He didn't let her see it, but he knew her well enough to know she was nervous.
"...I stand by what I said. I didn't just say it to convince you."
She closed her hands into fists. Her breathing began to grow heavier. Sunny was the same. His hands trembled and he looked away.
'Okay, I said it... now what? I have to think of something fast, say something.'
Cassie took Sunny's hand to get his attention. Her strategy worked as he instantly tensed up, straightened his back, and turned to look at her.
"Tell me, Sunny, do you like me?"
He answered instantly.
"No."
Cassie's chest hurt. Her lip trembled and her expression quickly changed to one of melancholy.
Sunny grabbed her by the shoulders, pulling her toward him to look into her eyes. He wanted to see her face completely right now and appreciate those precious gems she had for eyes.
"I love you."
Just like that time in the tree, the world fell silent and only the two of them existed. Quickly, all the pain and sadness that had appeared in Cassie a moment ago vanished. It was incredibly difficult for Sunny to say all this; it was unnatural for him.
"C-Cassie, I love you. I've wanted to tell you this... ever since we left the tree, I've wanted to tell you, because I think you love me too, don't you?"
Tears fell from Cassie's face, but unlike the previous times, this time they weren't tears of sadness or despair. Quite the opposite. For the first time in a long time, she was genuinely happy. The happiness was so overwhelming that she cried rivers.
"Yes, I do! I love you, Sunless."
Unable to contain herself any longer, Cassie jumped towards him, knocking him to the stone floor. They almost fell into the void due to the blonde's intensity. Sunny managed to hold on to the edge. What he didn't have time to protect himself from was the assault of kisses Cassie gave him. For the second... no, third time, their lips met. Sunny didn't resist and gave in to the girl's affection. She grabbed Sunny's face to bring him closer to her. She grabbed his hair so he wouldn't let go. He, in response, took her waist with one hand and her back with the other. They were just silent kisses, but deep feelings were behind this exchange.
It was a passionate round of kisses (more from Cassie than from Sunny). She didn't let go of her beloved until they were both out of breath. They separated, panting. Sunny tried to compose himself and sit up.
'That... was intense, maybe too much. I don't know if my heart can take it.'
He looked over at his kiss attacker. Her face was completely red, with tears still around her eyes. He thought he was looking at a painting, captivated but still shy and embarrassed by the exchange. But another sight snapped him out of his admiration. He opened his eyes and shouted.
"Cassie! It-It's the castle, I see it!"
Sure enough, it was the castle where they had spent two months. Sunny couldn't contain his excitement; this was supposed to be their salvation. He turned to look at the blonde to celebrate that they would basically be safe from now on. But when he turned to look at her, she looked more horrified than anything else. She had a massive blush, looking like a tomato.
"N-Neph, are you awake?"
Sunny felt a chill and a giant wave of nervousness. Slowly, he turned to where Nephis lay, asleep and unconscious. There she was. She was not unconscious. Her eyes were wide open, her face flushed, her hands on her chest, and her mouth slightly open. Nephis tried to speak and formulate something in her limited capacity for communication, and out came:
"Hello."