Cassie woke up with a start and looked around the room to catch her bearings.
Then she palmed her face. Despite having been blind ever since she became a dreamer, she still ended up instinctively scanning her surroundings when waking, old habits die hard.
Well, it wasn't all that bad of a habit as she was still able to recognize she woke up since she couldn't see anything.
A small smug smile made its way onto her face as she began to process what she had seen in her dream.
She finally had all the material she needed to convince Nephis to give up on trying to find Sunny.
Nephis was by no means subtle about her feelings for him and Cassie was sure that with news of her recent revelation she would be heartbroken.
'Why was a rather mundane conversation like that delivered to me as a vision? It has to be that damned [Fated] attribute of his.'
She had started to get annoyed at the amount of her visions that Sunny made and appearance in. It almost seemed like the whole world revolved around him alone.
While Nephis certainly acted like it revolved around her, for Sunny it might just be true.
'Now that I think about it Sunny has appeared in more of my visions than I have.'
She wasn't even the main character of her own powers.
Cassie was starting to feel left out. Out of the original trio of herself, Nephis, and Sunny she was by far the least extraordinary.
At least back in the Forgotten Shore Sunny had started out not much ahead of her, and they both had been far eclipsed by Nephis. Now though she had no excuses to make since Sunny was just as much of a monster as Nephis is.
'No, even more so. After what he went though in the 2nd nightmare I don't think Nephis can compare in experience and his growth speed far surpasses hers. If he could absorb fragments as fast as Neph or even any other awakened, I'm sure he would have become a titan by now.'
Cassie started humming a tune as she made her way to Sunny's house, which Nephis had started living out of, oblivious to the effect that her words would have on Changing Star.
'Why am I even worrying about Sunny. He's out of my hair and now I can make sure Nephis gives up on him as well.'
Before she even entered the house Cassie thought she had caught the smell of smoke reaching her. This struck her as odd since she thought that Nephis was a fantastic cook, but she wrote it off as just a symptom of the odd state that Nephis had been in ever since she had learned that Sunny had left.
As she opened the door, she was greeted by the spartan and sparsely decorated sight that she had become familiar with as Sunny's home. Not that she could see it.
When Nephis had moved in Effie and herself had tried to convince Nephis to add a woman's touch to Sunny's home, yet their pleas fell on deaf ears. She should have expected that to happen after having seen the state of the Immortal Flame's last manor.
She made her way to the kitchen where she had assumed Nephis would be, based on there being a scent of smoke. When she didn't find Neph there, she followed the scent of smoke and activated her awakened ability as she began to worry.
Bewildered Cassie blinked a couple times and then rubbed her eyes as she tried to register what she was 'seeing'.
Nephis was sitting on a sofa staring into space with a deadpan expression while above her there was a projector leaking smoke as the last embers of a fire were dying inside it.
Cassie opened her mouth as she tried to form words that were lost on her.
The sound of Cassie's footsteps must have alerted Nephis as she glanced at her.
"Hi Cas, what are you doing here?"
She was still at a loss for words, but she managed to find them after Neph directed the question to her that she really should have been asking.
"What do you mean, what are you doing here?', I'm the one who should be asking that question. Why did you destroy Sunny's projector?"
Cassie's late response had provided Nephis all the time she needed to prepare a Sunny worthy performance.
Nephis tilted her head in confusion and blinked a couple times and then looked at the projector pretending as if she had just noticed it, "I guess it must have malfunctioned."
"Uh huh"
"Maybe we should talk about this outside. I think you could use some fresh air."
Cassie had thought it wise to take this conversation into a more open area after having seen the remains of Neph's last emotional outburst.
Before she led them outside, she studied Nephis, curious of what state she was in. The past week had been rough on her friend so she was hoping that given some time she would better cope with Sunny's absence.
'Is she still wearing Sunny's clothes?'
Nephis was wearing a black t-shirt that definitely wasn't big enough for her. Not only was she still a bit taller than Sunny but the extra area the shirt used to cover her bust caused it to not reach all the way to her shorts, making it look more like a crop top.
Initially Cassie had thought that Nephis wore Sunny's clothes simply because she had nothing else to wear but that excuse had dried up quite quickly as it had already been over a week since she had returned and Effie and herself had made sure to take Nephis clothes shopping already.
It wasn't just her clothes, but Nephis' whole demeanor that seemed out of place, like she was missing some essential piece of her that completed the puzzle known as Changing Star.
She seemed restless and on edge. Despite being in dire need of a moment of respite after having returned from such a long stay in one of the harshest regions of the dream realm, she never seemed to relax.
She knew Sunny's absence would have a big effect on Nephis yet, she couldn't have imagined that it was to this degree.
Her hope that Nephis would have gotten better after a weeks passing was quickly diminished as she realized that she might have gotten even worse.
Cassie was starting to feel a bit guilty about how happy she was about news that would inevitably break Nephis' heart.
'If this is what she is like just because he left I shudder to imagine what will happen when she learns that he has moved on.'
Nephis had always been a steadfast indomitable anchor in her life and as she started to imagine the consequences of what would happen if that anchor was uprooted, she came to the decision that Nephis would be better off never knowing what became of Sunny.
Cassie abruptly stopped and turned to Nephis.
"Actually, never mind I'll tell you some other time."
She turned around and lifted her foot in an attempt to leave but before she could even take a full step, she was interrupted by Nephis grabbing her shoulder with a tight grip.
"There's obviously been something on your mind. Well, what are you waiting for spill it already."
Cassie furrowed her brown tilted her head in an attempt to feign confusion, but it was futile in front of Nephis.
"Save it Cas. I can already tell based on how you've been stealing glances at me that it has something to do with Sunny."
The oracle's mock confusion turned genuine as she was surprised at Neph's ability to read her.
She had always known how much Nephis struggled in social situations so she had assumed she would have no trouble fooling Changing Star.
Cassie realized her mistake of having treated Nephis like the same girl that had saved her on the Forgotten Shore.
Who knew what Nephis had been through while left alone in a death zone and having challenged a 2nd nightmare alone as a sleeper, but it certainly seemed like it had been a humbling experience for her.
'If I can't deceive her with a lie, I guess I'll have to take a page out of Sunny's book. Neph wasn't the only one who had graduated from Sunny's school of deception.'
Cassie grimaced at the amount of emotional pain she was sure her next actions would cause Nephis but she judged it was a better solution than to let Nephis continue on this self-destructive path.
'Might as well rip the band aid off now. Neph is strong and already accustomed to losing people close to her. I'm sure she can bounce right back from this.'
Cassie relaxed into Nephis' grip and turned towards her.
"Neph, I hate to be the one to break the news to you, but I don't think Sunny shares your feelings. I'd be surprised if he doesn't despise you after what happened at the top of the Crimson Spire."
Nephis' eyes widened as she staggered back a half step and suddenly her position with Cassie was reversed.
She wasn't used to her quiet and docile blind friend being this straightforward and passive aggressive, so she was completely caught off guard.
Upon hearing Cassie's words, Nephis suddenly remembered the unfiltered and pure rage Sunny had expressed when she had said his true name.
Another image replayed in her mind as she saw the utter despair in his eyes when she forced him to stop attacking her and to leave.
The two contrasting emotions he had shown on the Crimson Spire had been the climax of her social education that she referred to as the events of the Forgotten Shore.
'I always thought my own emotions burned with a frightening intensity, but I don't think I can even compare to what he had shown me then.'
It only left a bitter aftertaste in her that those two pinnacles of emotion were negative ones caused by her actions.
She felt that was the first time that she a truly seen Sunny clearly. He had always masked himself and hidden in the shadows which had only made her want to discover who he really was all the more.
She was left at a loss for words as all these thoughts crossed her mind and Cassie wouldn't let this opening go unexploited.
Despite Cassie being blind she stared Nephis dead in the eye with that creepy gaze that all too many seers seemed to possess.
Then Cassie made Nephis' word crumble as she threatened to unearth its very foundation.
"Neph there's no point to this anymore. Sunny has already moved on.
She deliberately left a brief pause for Nephis to understand the gravity of her words.
"He's in a better place now."
Suddenly Nephis' pallor turned even paler than Sunny's.
She started trembling and felt her knees going weak.
For a moment Cassie thought she might even witness the fall of Changing Star.
But that was impossible as Nephis regained enough strength to muster a weak protest.
"Y-You're lying! S-Sunny couldn't have died! He doesn't even know how to die!"
Nephis' voice was quieter than Cassie had ever heard from her. She was sure that Changing Star hadn't even meant for her to hear it.
A sudden thought occurred to Nephis that served as her salvation, her light at the end of the tunnel.
She let out a depraved and hysterical laugh. "T-The Spell. The Spell would have informed me if he died because of our bond."
Cassie just smiled wistfully while waving her hand in the air lazily as she dismissed the idea.
"Oh, you mean the Shadow Bond. He told me about that. Neph you are in denial, since when were you one to trust the Spell?"
Nephis' racing heart skipped a beat when she heard that.
"Th-That, I know Sunny better than anyone else in the world. He would rather take the Shadow Bond to his grave than tell anyone about it. H-How do you know about it?"
Cassie let out a sardonic laugh as she stepped closer and whispered in Nephis' ear.
"If you know Sunny so well then isn't it obvious. He's petty, I don't know when but at some point, he stopped caring about protecting me from the truth. Heh. Misery loves company, I guess."
Nephis didn't believe a word that was coming out of Cassie's mouth. The oracle had almost convinced her that Sunny had died but she had gotten to bold with telling her that Sunny revealed the Shadow Bond.
'I-I knew that Cassie wasn't exactly fond of Sunny but to think she would go this far to slander him right in front of me.'
There was suddenly a dangerous dark gleam in Nephis' eyes as they hardened with a resolve that looked all too familiar and frightened Cassie. It was the same look she wore whenever she talked about her goal of destroying the Spell or killing the Sovereigns.
As she started to tremble under Nephis' gaze the realization began to slowly dawn on Cassie that she might have revealed too much to Nephis.
She had grown accustomed to withholding information around the cohort. Yet Nephis had just returned so she hadn't adjusted quickly enough and had grown impatient with her not moving on from Sunny.
The best move on her part would have been to just wait for Nephis to get over Sunny. Time was on her side so eventually Nephis would have to move on.
Except she didn't believe Nephis was capable of moving on. Cassie had seen what lengths Nephis would go through to destroy the Spell and have her revenge against the sovereigns, and she was sure Nephis would go even further for Sunny based on how she had chosen to remain in the Forgotten Shore for him.
Cassie focused all of her attention on her awakened ability hoping there was a possibility that she could avoid the incoming hell Nephis was about to raise.
A hollow defeated sigh just barely escaped her lips before she once again felt Nephis' inescapable grip on her shoulder.
She had been too slow to prepare for the future she had seen and even if she had been ready, she sincerely doubted it would have made any difference considering how severely outmatched she was in combat compared to Nephis.
Nephis' grip on her gradually lessened as she whispered to her blind friend in an almost solemn voice "I didn't want to do this Cass but you've forced my hand."
Cassie tensed and prepared herself for the haymaker that Nephis was about to throw, which was why she was so caught by surprise when Nephis just turned around and walked away without another word.
Her exit was eerily similar to Sunny's own and Cassie had a feeling that whatever Changing Star was planning would change the very course of history itself.