The world fell silent.
Even the whisper of the Dark Sea had faded, leaving only the ragged sound of Zachary's breathing. The air felt thick and stagnant, heavy with salt and ash. Each heartbeat seemed to echo across the barren shore, swallowed by the vast darkness above.
Nephis stood motionless, her pale figure half-lit by the fading glow of the Dream Blade. The weapon hummed faintly in her hand — a fragile line of silver cutting through the gloom, steady and unyielding. Cassie had finally gone quiet, the last traces of that alien voice still clinging to her breath, content in its triumph.
Zachary didn't move. His mind was a battlefield of whispers — the Soul Devourer clawing at his thoughts, his instincts screaming danger, and somewhere beneath it all, a tired voice whispering that maybe this was how it was meant to end.
He carefully released Cassie's legs and shifted his stance, gripping her by the waist and slinging her over his shoulder like a sack. It wasn't graceful, but it gave him more control if things went wrong.
"Neph..." Zachary began slowly. "Don't jump to conclusions. We need—"
"Let Cassie go," she interrupted flatly.
Zachary frowned, then exhaled through his nose. "Yes, I'll let her go. She's not even injured — can't you see I'm in worse shape?"
He decided to stop dancing around the issue. "Listen, Ast—"
"Don't try to buy time, Zachary," Nephis cut him off again, her tone sharp and cold. "I know you're planning to take us away." Her feet shifted slightly — a small, precise movement that screamed readiness.
Zachary's brow furrowed. "Just listen, Aste—"
"Let Cassie go."
"Could you just—"
"Let. Cassie. Go."
Behind her impassive expression, Zachary could see it — the faint tension in her shoulders, the way her weight balanced perfectly on her back foot. Nephis was ready to strike the instant he made a wrong move.
"You're not going to listen, are you?" he said in defeat, his right hand tensing as though gripping an invisible hilt.
"Let Cassie go," Nephis repeated, her voice like steel. The Dream Blade in her hand pulsed faintly, its edge gleaming brighter with restrained fury.
'Changing Star... as unchanging as ever,' Zachary cursed inwardly.
The air was taut with silence. Then — he dropped Cassie.
Everything happened in an instant.
The moment her weight left his shoulder, sparks erupted around his right hand, Ender's Solace flaring into existence. At the same time, Nephis moved — a blur of white and light. Shifting to her right, she dashed forward, her blade cutting through the air toward him.
Zachary dropped into a lower stance, dragging his sword upward just in time. Steel met steel with a sharp, ringing crash that shattered the quiet.
Nephis stood between him and Cassie, her first strike meant not to wound — but to force distance between the man and the enthralled seer.
"Wait—"
But before Zachary could even speak, Nephis was already on him.
Without time to breathe, he parried her thrust and blocked the following cut. His arms jolted with each impact as he gave ground, cursing under his breath. At this level of combat, focus wasn't only on the enemy's blade — it was on their breathing.
Breathing wasn't just air drawn into the lungs; it was rhythm — the way a fighter wove their movements, the tempo that guided every strike and step. If you could cut through their breathing, you could cut through their entire flow of battle.
And because of that, Zachary had lost the initiative.
He countered with a downward slash, but Nephis met it cleanly and turned his blade aside, leaving his guard wide open. Cursing, Zachary threw himself into a roll to the right — just like in their old sparring sessions. But unlike then, this time Nephis followed.
She wasn't holding back anymore.
Drawing a sharp breath, Zachary steadied himself. He just needed a single opening — one chance to speak those three names and bring back her lucidity. Focusing, he activated Cinder Eyes to read the path of her attacks.
And froze.
What he saw made no sense.
His reaction faltered for half a heartbeat — long enough for Nephis's next thrust to slip past his guard. He barely dodged, relying on Danger Sense to twist out of the way at the last second.
'I'm not seeing this right, am I?' Zachary thought, startled, parrying one strike and countering with his own.
The ability to see Attack Lines — born during his fight with the Centurion — had become one of his most crucial tools. It allowed him to anticipate his opponent's strikes before they completed their arcs, giving him precious time to react and counterattack. Combined with his enhanced senses, his perception almost reached the realm of precognition.
But Nephis's sword path...
Zachary barely deflected another blow, eyes widening as realization sank in. Nephis's attacks weren't following any rhythm. Each strike shifted mid-flow — an attack starting from the left would abruptly vanish, only for another to appear from above. Tens of shimmering lines danced and broke all at once, each one shifting faster than his mind could track.
His senses spiraled into chaos. And he hated to admit it — but once again, since Eddard, someone was using Cinder Eyes against him.
He knew the Broken Sword style — flexible, unpredictable, built for adaptation — but this… this was on another level. This wasn't random creativity; it was precise chaos, deliberately crafted to break his sight.
A technique tailored precisely to exploit the flaw he'd believed buried. As if Nephis had been expecting their eventual clash.
'How the hell did she even come up with this?' Zachary thought with bitter amusement, deactivating his sight before it completely overwhelmed him.
Zachary had long perfected his Balance, and the Unity had elevated it to new heights. His Soul Core carried the potency of six hundred fragments — perhaps even more. He could channel essence directly into his blade.
And yet… he was being pushed back by swordsmanship alone.
Clenching his teeth, Zachary lunged forward again, blades colliding in a violent rhythm. Sparks scattered between them as he fought to keep pace — Danger Sense and Cinder Eyes compensating for what his technique still lacked.
"Just lis—" he tried to speak between clashes, but Nephis gave him no room. Each swing cut his words short.
"For fuck's sake!" Zachary twisted his sword left to parry a slash, metal shrieking against metal.
"Snap out of it!" he shouted, raising his leg just in time to avoid a cut that would have severed his ankle.
He had improved tremendously with the Simple Sword. Combined with the flexibility of Broken Sword's technique and the insight of the Heavy Sword gained during the Centurion fight, he was becoming a formidable fighter.
But still — he lagged behind Nephis in pure swordsmanship.
Their blades blurred in a storm of motion — thrusts, parries, slashes — each barely holding the other at bay. Zachary managed to maintain a fragile equilibrium between them, but...
'We're running out of time,' he thought, wincing as a sharp throb split his skull.
He ducked beneath a slash and countered with a thrust, barely keeping his balance. The Soul Devourer's assault on his mind was intensifying, clawing deeper into his consciousness with every second.
'We're wasting precious time,' he realized grimly.
They needed every minute of the night if they were to cross the Dark Sea before dawn, while the tide still held. Knowing this, Zachary tightened his grip on Ender's Solace and dashed toward Nephis.
She anticipated his move. Her blade came down in a merciless arc, the air shrieking as it fell. The chill of death brushed his spine — but trusting Cinder Eyes and Danger Sense, Zachary raised his sword at the perfect angle.
Their blades met with a blinding spark, the force jarring through his arms. Using that same momentum, he guided her strike downward, letting her edge slide along Ender's Solace until their crossguards met in a locked stalemate.
With a twist, he forced both blades aside.
Nephis's eyes widened — exposed for a heartbeat.
Before she could react, Zachary's free hand shot forward, gripping the collar of her breastplate. He yanked her in and drove his forehead into her nose with a sharp, wet crack.
"Snap out of it, goddammit!" he growled, seeing blood flow down her nose.
And before she could speak, he spat the words that would break the stalement — the three keys she'd given him.
"Aster, Song, Vale!"
Nephis froze, her eyes widening — and for a brief moment, Zachary felt a wave of relief wash over him. He opened his mouth to speak when her gaze suddenly sharpened. White sparks began to dance in her gray eyes.
'Shi—'
{_^_}
Danger Sense surged like a scream in his mind. Zachary instantly tried to pull back, but Nephis moved with blinding speed. Her sword flashed from the left, forcing him to twist Ender's Solace to intercept the blow.
A loud clang echoed through the shore. The impact drove him back three steps, his shoes grinding against ash. Before he could steady himself, Nephis was already upon him again — her sword raised high, wreathed in white fire.
Zachary's eyes widened in shock at the sight. He barely had time to raise Ender's Solace to meet the descending strike.
Sparks exploded between them as the blades collided, the heat from Nephis's sword scorching his face. He gripped Ender's Solace with both hands, every muscle straining to withstand her onslaught. She was reinforcing herself with her Aspect — he could feel it, burning and divine.
Their swords trembled in deadlock, the metal groaning under the pressure.
Then Nephis raised her gaze, voice raw with fury. "How… how do you know those names? Who are you?"
"You told them yourself," Zachary hissed through clenched teeth.
Her sudden display of strength startled him, but he forced his heartbeat to steady. After all, she was a wielder of a Divine Aspect.
"Don't you dare lie to me!" Nephis snarled, pressing harder. The white fire flared brighter, her voice cutting like a blade. "Which Domain do you belong to?!"
Zachary grimaced. Part of him wanted to answer like Sunny would have — questioning back at her — but he already knew what a Domain was. He couldn't lie.
"Snap out of it, Neph... please," he said, wincing as the heat intensified. He poured essence into Ender's Solace, matching Nephis strength.
Nephis grinned, a manic glimmer flashing in her eyes. "I always kn—"
Her words cut short. She winced suddenly, stumbling back and clutching her eye. For a few tense seconds, she stood frozen — then slowly looked up, her gaze calm once more, the fire gone.
"I really told you those words?" she asked, her blade fading into nothing.
Zachary nodded, finally exhaling a long, shaky breath. 'That was close.'
Her next words pulled him back to focus. "What do I need to do?"
"Convince Cassie to get into the boat," Zachary replied, his voice heavy with fatigue. "And tell her to summon her staff."
Just like that, their clash ended.
Within moments, Nephis was helping Cassie climb into the boat. Watching them, Zachary sighed in relief and dismissed his sword. Then he froze — something caught his eye.
His palm was torn open, blood seeping from the wound. But Blood Weave forced it back, the gash knitting itself shut. Zachary could only shake his head. Despite everything... 'I still have a long way to go.'
They set sail shortly after. Even with the chaos at the end, they had only lost a few minutes of night. Cassie sat at the center of the crude vessel, her staff conjuring a steady wind against her cape.
Watching her, Zachary wanted to finally relax — but he couldn't. His gaze drifted to the Ashen Barrow shrinking behind them, swallowed by the black horizon.
'I wasn't able to leave a present.' He clicked his tongue in annoyance.
Pressed by time, battling the tree's influence, and juggling his plan, he hadn't been able to leave a final "Fuck you" like Sunny did. Still, he wasn't particularly bitter about it. Unfortunately, he had more pressing matters at hand.
They had left a Terror behind... only to sail straight into the unknown.
Time passed as Zachary steered westward. Thanks to Cinder Eyes and his sharpened senses, he stayed on course easily. After a while, his mind began to clear — the Soul Devourer's assault had finally ended.
He exhaled slowly, relief threatening to soften his focus — but he stopped himself. It wasn't over. Not yet. He was sailing across a Great Titan, with countless Corrupted dwellers stirring below. One mistake, one slip, and he'd fall — and then the gazes...
His hands trembled. He forced the fear down, repeating to himself, 'I will not fall here.'
Gradually, his heart began to steady.
Then he noticed movement at the front of the boat. The girls had regained their lucidity. A few quiet minutes later, Cassie shifted, making the vessel sway gently. She passed her staff to Nephis and began moving toward him, carefully.
Zachary pursed his lips, ready to tell her they could talk later — but before he could speak, she wrapped her arms around him. The blind girl buried her face against his chest, her body shaking with quiet sobs.
Zachary froze. The emotions he'd been suppressing surged all at once. He could feel Cassie's trembling hands clutching the back of his neck, her tears soaking through his shirt. Part of him wanted to comfort her — to return the embrace — but he clenched his teeth and gently pulled her away.
Cassie trembled, her blue eyes brimming as tears continued to fall, but she didn't resist. Sitting beside him, she whispered between broken breaths, "Thank you… thank you…"
He didn't know how to respond. Too much had happened, too fast. He opened his mouth to speak — then stopped as Cassie raised a trembling hand toward his face. Her fingers reached for the place she had scratched — the wound now sealed by Blood Weave.
Zachary instinctively flinched away from her touch… but after a heartbeat, he sighed in defeat. His eyes softened, and he let her hand rest gently against his cheek.
Cassie's voice was quiet, fragile. "Thanks, Zach… thank you."
"You don't have to thank me, Cassie. It was my fault we took this long anyway," he said calmly — though beneath the calm, his thoughts churned like the sea beneath them.
'I don't know exactly what she knows about me...' he thought as Cassie finally withdrew her hand. 'Even more — why did she befriend me, knowing my Attributes?'
That question haunted him. He remembered how back at the Academy, he'd been content to keep a certain distance between them, to maintain focus on his goals. But after everything, he couldn't deny it — he had grown fond of the girls. This was the question that had haunted him the most — a question he hadn't been able to answer.
Before he could finish the thought, Cassie's voice broke the silence again.
"…And I'm sorry," she whispered, returning to Nephis to retrieve her staff.
Zachary's thoughts and emotions tumbled into chaos once more. He knew what her apology had meant in the original story — an apology cast across time, a foreshadowing of tragedy yet to come. But now? He didn't know why she was apologizing.
Was it because of the lie about his Attributes? Or something else… something she had already done?
But just as those questions began to take shape, Danger Sense started to buzz faintly — not warning of immediate peril, but an augury of something yet to come.
'Later… I'll ask those questions later,' Zachary thought, biting his lip and shaking his head.
Hours passed without incident, but that only worsened his unease. The silence of the Dark Sea pressed in from all sides, and with every minute that nothing happened, the tension grew thicker. He knew something would come — it always did.
Cassie sat in the middle of the boat, focused on maintaining a steady gale against her cape. At some point, Nephis had moved to his side; even in the darkness, he could feel her eyes on him, sharp and watchful.
Zachary kept steering westward, his hands trembling on the improvised rudder. Despite his mastery of Body Control, he couldn't suppress the shaking — the steady hum of Danger Sense thrummed through his nerves, demanding attention.
Then, it happened.
{_^_^_^_}
{_^_^_^_}
{_^_^_^_}
Danger Sense spiked in an instant. Nephis noticed his shift immediately; sparks danced to life in her hand, taking the shape of her sword. But before she could move, Zachary grabbed her wrist.
"It's only Corrupted," he muttered through clenched teeth, relief mixing with dread. Realizing what he had just said, a shaky laugh escaped his lips.
'I must be the first Sleeper grateful to encounter a Corrupted creature,' Zachary lampooned bitterly, shaking his head.
Nephis looked at him for a few heartbeats, then lowered her gaze toward the trembling hand still gripping hers.
This had happened more times than Zachary ever wanted to experience, and each encounter left his back drenched in cold sweat. But just as his heartbeat began to slow, Danger Sense surged again — sharper, louder, unmistakable.
{_^_^_}
{_^_^_}
A Fallen was approaching. And fast.
Clenching his teeth, Zachary locked the rudder and grabbed one of the buoys. "Neph!"
She moved instantly, sparks flaring from her hand as she ignited the crude buoy. The bundle of twigs and demon fat erupted into flame, its light pushing back the suffocating darkness — a small, trembling sun on the black water.
Zachary didn't waste a heartbeat. Using every ounce of strength and Balance, he hurled the burning buoy far to the side. As it splashed into the waves, he felt the Fallen's presence veer toward it — only for Danger Sense to scream again.
The light had drawn more than just the Fallen. The creatures of the Dark Sea — those that thrived in eternal darkness — were now converging, drawn by the sudden blaze like moths to fire.
Zachary clenched his jaw, swallowing a curse. He'd expected this, but it didn't make it easier. Grabbing two more buoys, he nodded at Nephis, who wordlessly lit them both. He threw each in a different direction, careful not to create a trail that would lead back to their boat.
He reached for another when something flickered in the edge of his vision — so faint even Cinder Eyes barely caught it. Rising from the Dark Sea like a half-buried promise… was a colossal stone hand.
The statue's hand.
"We're almost there!" Zachary shouted, voice breaking with both hope and urgency. "Cassie, increase the speed!"
The blind girl was pale, sweat beading across her brow. She was nearing her limit, but biting her lip, she nodded and forced more essence into her staff. The boat surged forward, its cape swelling as the gale intensified.
Zachary hurled another flaming buoy into the sea — and for now, none of the horrors below turned their gaze toward them. He was reaching for the next when something surfaced that froze his blood.
A tentacle broke through the waves — then another. And another. Countless more followed, each covered in grotesque mouths that seeped black tar. Their teeth were cracked and marred, shreds of flesh dangling between their gaps. The thing ignored the light entirely.
It moved toward the boat with terrifying speed, its tentacles writhing in a nightmarish symphony of chaos and dissonance. Their movements were wrong — too fluid, too deliberate. Zachary's stomach churned as dread crawled through his veins.
They were almost at the statue.
And the abomination was closing in.
If they kept this course, they would drag it right to their destination — and they couldn't fight such a thing atop the statue. They had to lose it here, in the Dark Sea.
But how?
The creature drew nearer, the water boiling around its many limbs. Fighting in the open sea was suicide, but staying still was just as deadly. His thoughts spiraled. What could they do? What could he do?
"What's in my-"
It was getting closer.
His mind short-circuited. Could he fight it? Balance, Unity, Enlightenment, Flow Control, Essence, Ender's Solace—
Underwater. Gazes. Darkness.
It was getting closer.
Almost reaching the edge of the [Blasphemer] Attribute, and once it reached it, there would be no escaping. He had to act now.
Ender's Solace took shape in his shaking hand, and just as he was about to jump into the darkness a hand rested on his shoulder, and pulled him back.
Zachary watched speechless as Nephis jumped into the water, flamming sword in hand.
"What happened?" Cassie's tired voice came from behind him.
Zachary's heart was shaking with dread, but his Mind remained calm despite the chaos of his feelings. "Nephis... She jumped."
Cassie swallowed a scream and forced her trembling hands to steady her staff. The gale surged again, pushing the cape harder, driving the vessel forward.
The boat was reaching the statue, undisturbed. But now with only two passengers atop of it.
In the depths, a Star began to burn.