"Sunny… what do we do now?" Cassie whispered.
Sunny looked around the pitiful slums of the outer settlement.
"What else? We go find Nephis."
"But, Sunny… how do we find her?"
Sunny chuckled.
"Just follow me." Sunny moved to the desolate parts of the outer settlement — where the road from the dark city led into the slum — he was sure Nephis would choose the most ridiculous place to stay, somewhere always assaulted by abominations of any kind. That was who Changing Star was.
However, even if he had trouble, he could just follow the crowd. He was sure wherever Nephis went, people would follow. Someone like her in the outer settlement was rare, after all. Especially with a shining armor memory, spotting her wouldn't be too difficult.
'Just follow the sounds of mayhem; it is.'
At the very edge of the slum, perched dangerously above the vertical fall of the stone platform, stood a spacious dwelling. Unlike the other run-down huts in the outer settlement, this one was spacious and well built, as well built as you could get in the slums, at least, built from the stone slabs salvaged from the ruins.
Of course, it was built as close as it could be to the road, just as he expected. Sunny sighed. He expected this much, but it was more ironic seeing it play out in front of him. He knew Nephis too well.
She was sitting on the roof of the second story with her legs crossed, gazing at the cursed city below. The rising sun shone beyond the horizon, the warm light kissing her ivory skin, making her look that much more radiant.
Sunny couldn't stop himself from staring for too long. He scoffed inwardly.
'Whatever, I deserve it after all I've been thro-. Pure thoughts, Sunny!'
Sensing their approach, Nephis turned her head towards them. Seeing two of her friends finally return from the castle, she jumped down. Performing a graceful landing on the stone platform.
"Hey Neph!"
Nephis's face was painted with a beautiful smile so otherworldly it could overturn the heavens themselves. The silent moment between them was pure, untouched by the realm's vile corruption. However, it left Sunny with a bittersweet feeling; he wished the world wasn't so cruel, so she could smile like that more often.
"Hey, Sunny, Cassie." She gave both of them a glance, her gaze landing on his for a little longer than usual. After a moment of silence, she spoke:
"What is it, Sunny?"
Sunny blinked.
"What do you mean?"
Nephis looked at him again.
"Why are you grinning like that?"
Sunny touched his face.
"Am I? I guess I didn't notice it."
Nephis chuckled.
"Let me show you around my place."
Nephis led them into the stone lodge. The interior was austere and plain, with only a couple of pieces of broken furniture lying around in a chaotic mess.
Sunny sighed. He knew more than anyone just how simple Nephis could be. To her, that was all that was needed to live. She would really keep living in a plain and boring place without him. His taste was truly marvelous, especially when it came to colors and names. He was really good at those.
"Hey… Uh, Sunny. Are you hungry?" Nephis walked over to one of the flimsy wooden tables that stood near one of the walls. She removed a piece of cloth on top of it to reveal a large pile of juicy, perfectly roasted meat.
"Did you cook all of this?" Sunny asked while eyeing the meat with a ravenous light shining in his eyes. He hadn't tasted Neph's cooking for a while; even though the bright castle's food was good, cooked with myriads of unique ingredients, her cooking still tasted better. Even if it was just simple roasted meat.
Sunny found himself missing her touch in life.
Looking back, the week in the castle was truly torturous.
Sunny took a piece of meat and asked:
"Nephis, where did you get so much meat? And why do you need so much of it?" Nephis looked at Sunny chewing, smiling slightly.
"I killed a nightmare creature that came from the road, of course. And isn't it obvious? I plan on giving it all out."
Hearing this, Sunny's eyes widened. He knew the only people who were needlessly noble were fools, and Nephis was no fool. There had to be a reason for Nephis's actions, one calculated endlessly through a cold and rational mind like hers.
"What are you planning?" he asked without restraint.
Nephis looked disturbed at the hidden meaning behind Sunny's question. She didn't think he would be this opposed to her plans. At most, she thought she would get faint pushback and get him on his side.
She herself didn't like her own methods. However, there was nothing else she could do. If it meant killing everyone in the castle and outer settlement so she wouldn't stay trapped on the forgotten shore, she would do it without hesitation.
To her, being a slave was worse than being dead.
She took a deep breath, speaking only after sorting out her thoughts.
"I'm going to give it to them for free so I can get them on my side more easily. We are going to need them to defeat the bright lord, of course."
"Is that it then? Are you going to make rivers of blood flow through the Bright Castle's halls? Trample over all of their corpses to reach your goals?"
Nephis stayed silent, wearing an expressionless mask on her face. Her striking gray eyes didn't betray her inner feelings, not even to him. She nodded slowly.
Sunny snapped.
"Hahahaha. To think I really thought I knew you as well as I knew myself. If you do that, how does that make you any different than them? Killing a tyrant to replace them with yourself — is that what you plan to do?"