The world was on fire, both literally and figuratively.
"Hold!" She heard the shout of Shim. As always, he was in the thick of combat.
The line was starting to buckle under the horde of enemies facing them, the pressure constantly mounting. Sadly, she couldn't help them at the moment—the Fallen monster in front of her was proving quite the challenge. Even with half its body covered in second-degree burns, it was still fighting just as ferociously as at the beginning, maybe even more.
It looked like a toad—if a toad had two heads, was as tall as a lamppost, covered in sharp spikes, and could spit venom strong enough to melt through steel in seconds. Her poor armor had discovered that last part very painfully. At least it wasn't the [Starlight Legion] armor; it would be very regrettable if it were destroyed.
Not wanting to prolong the fight any longer, she burst once again with fire. Half she directed to her body, and the other half she focused on her reliable weapon. The [Dream Blade] shone with blinding radiance, ready to bring fiery revenge upon the Fallen once more.
The Toad, seeing that she was about to attack, retreated into itself, coiling like a spring. The moment she moved, it would unleash all that terrible might and pounce on her. Good. That was what she wanted.
She dashed, blade aimed straight ahead, and as expected, the Fallen creature exploded into motion, covering the distance between them in less than a second. The Toad probably expected her to dodge, which was why, when she didn't make any effort to evade, even its primitive intelligence seemed to realize something was wrong.
Too late.
She kept going, and with perfect aim, the blade pierced through the eye of the vile Toad, easily reaching the brain and even bursting from the other side of its skull.
[You have slain a…]
[Your soul shines brighter]
[You have received a memory]
The Toad died instantly. Sadly, its momentum did not disappear just because it did. She only had enough time to slightly brace herself before its corpse crashed against her and sent her flying.
Most of her bones had been broken by the collision, but that wasn't even close to her most dangerous predicament. No—that honor belonged to the closing distance between herself and the edge of the flying island.
Fortunately, just as planned, Kai managed to catch her in time. He had been flying nearby, shooting arrows with unerring precision, and had seen her last clash with the Toad. It was good to have such capable friends.
She took a fraction of a second to thank him and threw a glance toward the center of the fight. Then fire engulfed her once more. She paid no heed to the pain—the battle wasn't done yet, and they still needed her, both during and after the fight. And so, just a second later, her wounds had healed, and she was already on the move again. She passed Cassie, who was steadily directing the firekeepers like a maestro conducting an orchestra.
The sight of Effie laughing madly while beating a nightmare creature to death with another filled her with amusement despite her tired mind and heart. At least someone was having fun.
A second later, she reached the enemy and no longer had time for amusement. Her blade tore through the chitinous armor of the awakened beast in front of her with ease. As foolish as it might be, she looked down on these foes. After the nightmare of the Forgotten Shore, a mere awakened beast seemed pitifully weak.
To think she had escaped… She had never doubted that she would find a way out, and yet, at times, she was still surprised when night fell without the clamor of water covering the world. At times, she felt like a part of her had been left there, amidst the sinister dark. It had been five months already since—
She stopped herself in time. It was a downward spiral that would take hours to escape if she indulged it, and this wasn't the moment. As much as she might look down on them, the horde of awakened beasts could still kill her, and she had a duty to make sure the cohort and the firekeepers survived the day.
And so, the flames flared to life again, painting the world once more in divine fire. The pained screeches of her enemies incensed her. Fury invaded her mind. The [Dream Blade] sang with bloodlust, cutting through the enemy brutally in mesmerizing arcs of white.
She wasn't even sure what enraged her so much. Maybe it was the damnable Ghouls that had taken almost everything from her, still so far out of her reach even after so much time. Maybe it was the Spell, whispering mockingly in her ear, announcing each life that her blade took as if to remind her that it was even further from her revenge than the Ghouls would ever be. Maybe it was the world itself, so close to ruin and yet nobody else seemed to notice or care.
Or maybe… maybe it was herself. Five months already, and she wasn't any closer to any of her objectives. She had done the unthinkable, and it felt like she had yet to advance a single step.
At some point, she had dismissed the blade and instead begun pummeling the nightmare creatures with her fists. The crunching of their bodies did nothing to quench her fury—if anything, it made it worse. Her vision became a tunnel in which the only things she could see were her own rage and the next enemy that would pay for it. She spent what could have been seconds or what could have been hours fighting the beasts, her mind blank of anything but the desire for more carnage.
Eventually, there was nothing left upon which to unleash it. The fury within her roared, burning as hot as the sun. It wasn't satisfied—not even close.
A hand on her shoulder finally snapped her out of it, revealing a smiling Effie.
"Great job, Princess!" A teasing grin was on her face. "It was so beautiful to see you take a page out of my book." Then she took an exaggerated sigh and wiped an imaginary tear from her eyes. "You're growing so fast!"
Nephis did not answer. She wasn't in the mood for teasing—something Effie thankfully seemed to notice. The huntress schooled her expression, still smiling but more serious.
"So, what's next, Princess?" she asked, her gaze already roaming in search of the juiciest meal among their fallen foes.
"We start digging in search of a living sapling." The one who answered was Cassie, slowly but steadily approaching. She had been far more confident since gaining her awakened ability.
"Wait, you were serious? I thought it was a joke! How is a sapling going to power a flying ship anyway? Hey Princess, I think our cute seer is broken." Effie whisper-shouted to Nephis and then shook her head in mock sadness, giving Cassie a pitiful stare that she knew Cassie would notice despite being blind.
"You would know if you paid any attention to what I say." It was Cassie's only reply. She had become far more stoic after awakening too.
At times it was hard to know what she was thinking about, which was why Effie seemed so determined to break her composure. She had been unsuccessful so far, but she kept trying. Nephis had even heard the firekeepers betting among themselves about what would finally crack Cassie's calm mask. Amusingly enough, Kai was the one managing the bets.
Speaking of the charming archer, he was also approaching—still annoyingly handsome despite being covered in sweat and grime—with a new bow in hand. It seemed he had gotten a valuable reward out of the battle.
"Effie, please, not now. I want to get home before midnight." A bright smile accompanied his words, as if he hoped to convince her through charm alone. He almost succeeded too.
"You too, Kai? Am I the only sane one left?" Effie dramatically sighed, sadness coloring her tone so heavily that it couldn't be interpreted as anything but a joke.
Knowing they were about to descend into another pointless argument, Nephis stopped paying attention to their bickering and instead finally pulled up the runes.
[Slave: Lost from Light.]
[Shadow cores: 2/7.]
[Shadow Fragments: 1726/2000.]
Of course, they weren't her runes—what would be the point? She knew herself well enough, and she wasn't in any hurry to check her new memory. His runes, on the other hand, she checked with growing frequency. At first only once every few days, just to be sure he was okay. Then once a day. And now? Now she knew them better than her own. Hard not to, when in the Dream Realm it was her only way of knowing whether he was still alive—still fighting despite it all.
He was doing splendidly too. It almost scared her how fast he was advancing. By next month, she was sure he would be a demon. It filled her with a mix of pride and worry—such quick advancement could only mean he was constantly facing great peril.
Facing great peril because she left him behind…
No. She wouldn't lie to herself like that.
She had forced him to stay behind. To say otherwise would imply that he had a choice when she had given him none…
"Lady Changing Star, could you please help me heal the wounded?" Shim's shout, thankfully, pulled her out of the dark mood before it could fully take hold.
She left the cohort to bicker among themselves. The battle was over, but her job wasn't. Many firekeepers were wounded—though thankfully none were dead—and Shim alone couldn't handle it. She braced herself for another round of pain as she began healing them.
Sometimes, she felt like it never ended.
Other times… she felt like she didn't deserve for it to end.
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The Sanctuary of Noctis was a sight she took in with appreciation, despite how conflicted she felt about it. Anchoring herself in the domain—even a remote part of it—of one of her enemies still filled her with frustration. Sadly, it couldn't be avoided; Cassie assured them that their presence here was important.
For what? She refused to tell. Nephis did not pry—if she found it necessary to hide the details, she must have had a good reason. Nephis trusted her enough to grant her that, even despite the growing distance between them.
A distance both pretended not to notice. Just like they pretended not to notice the person-shaped hole among them whenever the cohort gathered.
"Get a grip, Nephis. Not again." She whispered harshly to herself. She had to be strong—both for herself and for those who depended on her.
Wrenching strength from the depths of her being, she composed herself and advanced into the Sanctuary, heading steadily toward the altar that would transport her back to the Waking World. On the way, she pretended not to notice the Valor recruiter as she passed her by without a second glance.
They were getting pushy. They had tried back when she awakened—as had the Government, and the Song and Night clans—but she refused. There might be some benefit to infiltrating them, but those were negligible for someone like her. An awakened—even one as famous as she was—had no negotiating power against such monolithic forces.
So she had politely but firmly refused their offers and proclaimed neutrality. Annoyingly, they seemed to take her decision to anchor herself to the Chained Isles as an unofficial pledge of alliance to Valor. As if. The day she did that would be the day she was ready to plunge her blade into their vile patriarch.
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Nephis opened her eyes within her manor. The sensation of being back always made her feel strange—like she was leaving an unwelcoming place only to enter another. Her [Dreamspawn] attribute never failed to remind her that she did not belong in either world.
A quiet noise to her right made her turn to see Effie leaving her pod, dragging herself skillfully into her wheelchair. At times, it still surprised Nephis to see the vivacious huntress confined to that chair. Sadly, even her aspect—powerful as it was—couldn't heal her.
Only becoming a Master would. And she was in luck—they planned to challenge the Second Nightmare before the end of next year. Cassie had found a suitable nightmare seed—where, she didn't know—and they were all in a hurry to advance.
Effie's reason was obvious: she wanted to fuse her physical and spiritual selves.
Kai claimed that needing to visit the Dream Realm every time he slept was too much of a hassle for his schedule. Secretly, they all knew he simply didn't want to be left behind.
Cassie… Nephis wasn't sure, but it was clear the seer was aiming for some far-off objective she couldn't reveal yet.
As for herself, she wanted to close the gap between her and the Supremes as fast as possible. She dreaded the possibility that they might keep growing even stronger if she didn't stop them soon. Just as important—and closer—was her other objective. When she became a Saint, she would take the repaired ship and cross the Hollow Mountains.
"Hey Princess, sorry to interrupt your brooding, but we have plans." Effie's annoying voice interrupted her again. She was not brooding!
"Which is?" was her only reply, a quirked eyebrow the only show of emotion she offered.
"We're visiting Doofus, of course." Then the annoying woman started wiggling her brows suggestively. "Just think about how lonely he must feel without his Princess visiting for so long."
A quick glance at the clock revealed what she already knew—they were just one hour past midnight, and she had to leave.
"I can't, I have to visit the hospital soon."
It was one of Cassie's ideas to boost her public standing. Once or twice a month, she would visit a hospital and offer free healing. It did wonders to endear her to the public.
Sadly, an argument based on logic could never dissuade the huntress once she'd decided something. So Nephis prepared herself for a long and grueling discussion that would leave her annoyed, confused, and slightly embarrassed at how Effie always managed to win. It was like the annoying woman had a superpower.
Or she would have—if not for a sudden betrayal.
"I called in advance. They're not expecting you." At some point, Cassie had left her own pod and was already standing by the door, ready to leave.
"See? Even Cassie wants you to come." Effie raised a hand, expecting a high-five from the blind girl. When none came, she shrugged and continued. "No more excuses now. Kai's going to meet us at the Academy. And you don't want to make your idol wait, right?"
Not willing to give Effie any ammunition, Nephis resigned herself to her fate.
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The gates of the Academy stood before her, just as imposing as ever. She remembered the first time she had seen them—back then, she hadn't paid them much attention, they were simply a means to an end. Nothing more, nothing less.
But now, they held far more significance. She didn't have to look hard to see why. Just a few steps from her, there were hundreds of black candles.
They were for Sunny. The public had come to love his story, after all. An orphan from the outskirts who had faced the First Nightmare, survived the perils of a death zone, and then, when the chance to escape came, chose to stay behind so the others could flee. It was a narrative the Government's propaganda machine couldn't have dreamed up even in their wildest fantasies. She'd played a part in it too.
"He stayed behind so I could leave," she had answered when asked. It was the truth—he had stayed behind on her order, as unwilling as he had been to follow it—and yet she still lied.
Sunny would be proud.
They even gave him a title of sorts: Black Star. They called him that because of his connection to her.
She had almost cried when she heard it.
Not having the strength to keep looking at the candles, she crossed the bridge with the others. On the other side, they met up with Kai and began their descent into the bowels of the Academy.
Sunny's pod was on the lowest floor, where the security was strictest.
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It didn't take them long to reach the lowest floor. However, she could feel that something was wrong—there was some sort of pressure in the air. A quick glance at the others showed her she wasn't imagining it. Unsettled, they advanced faster. The wheels of Effie's chair squealed slightly from how fast Kai was pushing her. Cassie even summoned her echo rapier, an action quickly mirrored by Kai summoning his bow—though in his case, Effie had to hold it for him.
In no time at all, they reached the door to Sunny's room—and their fears proved justified.
The guards were lying on the floor, soundly asleep, whether through violence or drugs she didn't know.
She didn't care.
Nephis exploded into motion. Fire enveloped her in a blazing embrace that couldn't begin to match the fury burning inside her. She tore through the gates as if they weren't there, just in time to see a man and a woman beginning to open the pod. Behind them sat another pod—a portable one.
They were going to kidnap Sunny.
MINE, a dark and terrible corner of her mind roared. Once again, they were going to take something of hers away.
She would not tolerate it.
She advanced immediately and, before they had time to react, unleashed a wave of fire—carefully controlled so it wouldn't set anything but them ablaze.
The man died screaming. The woman, on the other hand, was made of sturdier stuff. Whether through aspect or memory, she freed herself from the flames and moved—not toward Nephis, but toward the pod, too fast to intercept.
Had Nephis been alone, the situation would have become a tense hostage scenario.
Fortunately, she wasn't alone.
An arrow hit the kidnapper in the back of the knee, quickly followed by a flying rapier that stabbed her other leg.
The kidnapper didn't have time to get back up before Nephis was upon her. Two quick swings of her blade—just now finishing its formation—were enough to sever the woman's hands. A grunt of pain was the only sound she made.
Nephis grabbed her by the shirt and dragged her away from the pod. She wouldn't risk a suicide bomber.
"Who. Sent. You?" She asked, every syllable dripping with fury.
The kidnapper only looked at her and smiled. Then white foam began spilling from her mouth—a poison capsule. A burst of flame enveloped the woman, yet instead of healing her, it only seemed to worsen the effects of the poison. Once Nephis realized she couldn't be saved, she switched the effect of her flames.
She died screaming too.
Nephis stared at the charred corpse, emotions still raging inside her. The Ghouls weren't content with merely asking anymore—they had escalated to this.
Who else could it be? It took immense backing to develop a poison that worsened when exposed to healing as powerful as hers.
Cassie approached her. Kai and Effie, meanwhile, were checking on Sunny's sleeping pod. It was still sealed—they had arrived in time.
Suspiciously so.
"The timing is too convenient. They wanted to gauge your reaction," Cassie said.
Her words rang true. They always did.
Nephis took a deep breath, barely managing to restrain the burning fury, and answered, "What should we do?"
"Speed up our plans. If my visions can be trusted, they won't make any real move for at least another year—but it's better to be safe than sorry." Was Cassie's instant answer.
"It's settled then." Her reply was no less swift.
Nephis turned her gaze back to the sleeping pod. Through the clear glass, she could see Sunny's calm face. It was strange to see him like this—he almost seemed vulnerable. In their time together, he had always been on guard, paranoid, expecting betrayal at every moment. And yet… he had still failed to predict her own.
"Congratulations, Neph. You got me." She remembered those words like they'd been spoken seconds ago. The entire conversation was burned into her mind, along with the way he had looked at her.
Her heart broke every time she remembered the betrayal in his eyes.
She forced herself to look away. The guilt and shame were too much to face right now. She would rather face the dead gods than deal with it.
Then her gaze fell on the miraculously intact portable sleep pod they had intended to transport him in.
An idea came—and the decision was made in the same instant.
She couldn't trust anyone else to deal with the Ghouls or the Spell.
Why would it be any different with his safety?
MINE, the same dark corner roared in agreement.