Sunny came back shortly after, carrying Cassie on his shoulders. She did not look willing, flailing her arms around and begging Sunny to put her down, but he did not listen.
Nephis frowned.
"What is the meaning of this, Sunny?" She asked with an unnatural firmness in her voice.
"We have to go, Neph! The tree is eating our minds!" Nephis's frown deepened. Why would the great tree hurt them? Something rose in her, pushing her to attack Sunny. She raised her blade, but did not listen to it entirely.
"You got to snap out of it! Aster, Song, Vale! Remember?!" Sunny said in a panicked tone.
A raging fire spread in Neph's heart, causing the light in her eyes to shake. It spread, consuming almost all of her emotions; then a foreign force invaded, trying to put out the fire, but it failed. Only fueling it.
Her stoic mask cracked for a moment before it repaired itself soon after. She snapped out of the tree's mind hex. Calling forth the power of her aspect… and the cruel embrace of her flaw, using it to resist the mind attack.
"Help me push the ship." She commanded.
Sunny moved, pushing one of his arms out—but still keeping the other on Cassie—and helping her move the vessel.
With their combined strength, the action had been too easy. The full power of her flames embraced Nephis, and likewise Sunny also used his shadow to strengthen himself, along with her dormant shadow essence.
It only took a minute to get the makeshift boat on the dark sea; when it rested on the water, they let go, jumping in immediately.
"Cassie… summon your staff," Nephis commanded firmly, while the ship was getting farther from the ashen barrow.
Cassie had already resisted the hex somewhat, it had already weakened with distance, and that was just enough to be convinced by Neph; she summoned her magical staff—which Nephis snatched right after.
Holding the staff up high, she summoned the wind, using it to carry the boat; doing this, she felt glad for choosing to build the sail, even if crafting it from crimson red leaves had been difficult.
The ship rocked as it slid over the sea, speeding up dramatically. The power of the mind hex weakened; soon, it was gone entirely.
Looking over at Sunny, Nephis noticed a grin on his face—illuminated by the fleeting light of dusk.
"Why are you grinning?" She asked.
Sunny's grin deepened. Shrugging, he said.
"Nothing much… it's just that I left that tree a parting present." Pointing at the ashen barrow, Nephis could not help but follow Sunny's finger.
The ashen barrow looked like a fleeting, distant dream; just like the memories of that island were fleeting and surreal. The magnificent tree still stood on top of it, mighty and overbearing.
That did not last, though.
A flame shone on the island… at first it was small—like a spark from this distance—but soon it grew, consuming everything on the island and burning the tree's leaves, be it on the islands ground, or on the tree itself.
The scene was like that from a legend; invoking many different feelings in both of their hearts.
"Just what the hell happened there?" Cassie asked, still dazed from everything.
"Well…"
***
Sunny had explained everything that happened. From the Vile Thieving Bird's Spawn to the drop of ichor, not hiding anything from Cassie. Sunny already had a lineage—the divine lineage of shadow god—so he could not use the lineage memory; but weavers blood would be perfect for Cassie.
Weaver was the demon of fate, and Cassie had an affinity to fate. However, both of them had warned her to only consume it when she was ready. After everything, Sunny and Nephis had come to trust Cassie, not as much as they trusted each other, but it came close.
Nephis could not help but smile lightly. She felt that they were getting closer to the dark castle, and with Cassie's staff, they could cover the massive crater west of the ashen barrow with ease.
From this point onward, their journey would be relatively easy going, following their own pace.
…or that was what she thought.
Sets of massive tentacles shot out from the sea, rushing towards their makeshift vessel and tearing it apart; one of them latched onto her, knocking all the air out of her lungs and pulling her deep in water.
The first thing Nephis did was summon her sword and her fire; fire could not burn underwater, but she could use it to bathe her body in their gifts, augmenting it greatly.
Then she swung her blade, fighting the forces acting against her. The battle was unlike anything she had faced before. The mass of tentacles tore into her flesh like butter, leaving her mangled and bloodied.
Her entire left shoulder, along with the left eye socket was gone; her armor was almost destroyed, only being a sliver away from turning into sparks and returning in her soul sea. However, she had been freed.
Nothing was holding her in place.
So she swam. She swam as hard as she could. Ignoring all the pain ringing throughout her body, the pain of her injuries, the pain of their flaw. They did not matter. All that mattered was that she had to survive.
She had come too far to give up. Her fury, her desire, her longing. They were too great to let her give up now. So she fought. Breaking through the water's surface and looking for land she could reach.
She found it soon after; a mass of black stone—like the knight statues neck. She moved, putting using all her strength. It had only taken a minute—a time that would be embarrassing for her, if it was not for the injuries—but she made it.
Holding out her hand—the one that had been left unharmed—she pulled, pulling herself up and rolling on the dark stone.
She could see Sunny and Cassie already on the platform, with worried and sad faces. She would heave a sigh of relief, if it was not for her own injuries. She stood up, letting the power of her aspect take hold.
Radiant fire rose, weaving the torn flesh together; for parts that were entirely gone, it filled them, remaking her body from scratch.
Soon, the fire had died down, all of her injuries were gone. However, the pain of it all had caught up to her and she collapsed.