It was the day. It was time to go back home.
Nephis was looking out of the window of her chamber in the Bright Castle. Outside, the sky was gray as always, but the sound of people moving was everywhere. Five hundred people—that was how many she would have to lead today, with the help of her cohort, toward the Crimson Spire. Nephis could see Effie and Kai giving directions and grouping people into improvised units for the attack.
How many—how many of these people will I lead to their deaths? Nephis thought, a heaviness settling on her heart.
Looking a little longer, she saw Caster also helping with the organization. A feeling of cold, visceral loathing crept up from Nephis's stomach and settled in her chest. She knew that the act Caster had been putting on since he sneaked his way into her cohort was entirely fake.
Today, he will make an attempt on my life, Nephis thought. At that moment, Sunny came to mind. The hatred that had washed over her vanished, replaced by the conflicting warmth that thinking of Sunny always brought along with a deep sadness as she remembered what Cassie had said.
Her hands started trembling. Nephis had had hours to analyze and accept the possibility that Sunny really was working with Caster to kill her. Nothing had changed, even with all the time she'd had to consider it. Nephis still couldn't completely come to terms with the idea.
I wonder... Nephis looked through her window toward the courtyard, hoping to see Sunny somewhere below. No luck. Sunny was nowhere to be seen.
Of course he's not here. Sunny is probably at the cathedral gathering his things, Nephis realized, a wistful ache settling over her chest. She had been hoping to see him before the attack—maybe to have a quiet moment between the two of them—but it seemed that wouldn't be possible.
I could—I could go to the cathedral. Yes, I could, and we could talk. Just the two of us, Nephis thought, a jolt of warmth waking in her chest, but it was quickly blown away.
I can't leave now," She said to herself, letting out a deflating breath that left her mouth tasting like cold ash. The preparations were almost done. Nephis knew she needed to appear and give a motivational speech, just as Cassie would likely tell her to do.
Nephis let out another breath, inhaling deeply to straighten her posture and steel her resolve. "Let's do this," she said out loud, heading out while planning her speech.
_______________
The march toward the Crimson Spire had started shortly after her speech. As she had anticipated on her way down from her chambers, Nephis found Cassie, and the blind girl didn't waste any time offering ideas for the address. After Nephis had finished talking to the crowd, Cassie described it as 'short and powerful.
Nephis didn't really pay much attention to what she was saying. If someone were to ask her to recite the speech again, she wouldn't be able to. The whole time she was speaking, Nephis kept looking through the crowd, scanning faces in the hope she would see him. In the hope she would see Sunny. But he wasn't there. Sunny had not come to hear her speech. That made her feel a little down, as if the flame inside her chest—the one that reinforced all her decisions—shone a little less brightly.
After making sure everyone was with their assigned groups, the cohort assumed their formation: Effie and Kai in the front, Nephis and Cassie in the middle, and Caster in the back, followed by the five hundred people. At some point, Sunny had joined the march, taking a position next to Caster in the rear. Nephis didn't look back when she felt Sunny join them, but she could see Cassie's shoulders tense. Nephis also didn't feel comfortable having Caster behind her, but she found solace in the fact that he would likely not try anything with five hundred people and the rest of the cohort present. Her thoughts drifted back to Sunny and what Cassie had said.
Nephis moved closer to Cassie. Her movement could have been mistaken for her simply compensating for the uneven terrain.
"Cass" Nephis said in a low whisper. "Can you hear me?" Nephis didn't turn her head, she spoke in low whispers and hoped that Cassie could hear her over the noise of five hundred people in armor and carrying weapons.
"Mhm" was all Cassie said as acknowledgement.
"Any-Any more visions?" Nephis asked stuttering.
They continued walking and with the silence that was stretching over their conversation Nephis started to think Cassie had not heard her.
"No" Cassie whisper not turning her head.
The march continued.
"I realize something from the previous vision" Cassie said. Nephis heart flutter Could it be-Had Cassie found a new interpretation to her vision, The embers of hope started to light themselves inside of Nephis chest at the possibility that Cassie had a new interpretation that didn't involve Sunny betraying her.
"Caster was with Sunny in the vision of the dead boy in the floor" Cassie whisper in a serious voice "I ran the memory of my vision through my mind this morning and discover that Caster was on the edge of the vision but still visible" Cassie finish.
Nephis almost stumbled and fell at the new revelation. How can this be- how can there be so much evidence that destroys my hopes, Nephis chest compress as if something grabbed her heart and was squeezing. Her breath grew out of control and tears threatened to spill How much- How much would destiny take away from me. Wasn't it enough that it took my parents. Wasn't it enough that I had to see my grandma's health deteriorating as her hopes of my mother coming out of her Hollow state slowly flicker out until she died with a broken heart, Nephis felt a touch that brought her out of her mind. Cassie had grabbed her hand and was squeezing it lightly still looking forward.
Nephis took a deep breath, taking in the heat that was being shared through Cassie's hand. She blinked away the tears. No, I can't think about that right now. This people need me to lead them Nephis bottled up her emotions and bury them deep in herself with this thought.
Nephis continue walking, fire in her eyes, her back straight but never letting go of Cassie's hand. This was the only comfort that she allowed herself.
________
Six days—that was how long it took. Six days of walking and fighting by day, climbing at dusk, and camping on top of the headless rock statues. They had been fortunate; the number of casualties they had suffered along the way could be counted on one hand. As cold as that might sound, even with the horrible nightmare creatures they had to face in the Crimson Labyrinth, morale was high. People could be heard talking to their neighbors and making jokes; if what she heard was true, there had even been a marriage proposal yesterday while they were camping on top of the statues.
I wonder what it would feel like—for someone to propose staying with you for the rest of their life, Nephis pondered, and for some reason, she thought of Sunny. Her face grew a little hot at the thought of "Sunny" and "marriage" in the same sentence. As incredible as it might seem, Nephis had not had the chance to exchange any words with him that were not related to strategy or battles, and they were always in the company of other people. There was never a chance for a private word.
The same could be said for Cassie. The blind girl and Nephis had not had the chance to talk alone, or for Nephis to ask if any new interpretation of the vision had come to Cassie's mind. Nephis felt an ache in her chest at the thought that Cassie might have something new to tell her but hadn't been able to. If Nephis were a little more emotionally intelligent, she would have identified that ache in her chest as desperation.
Nephis put her hand on her chest as if she could rub away the ache, even though her armor was in the way. Her armor—the Starlight Legion Armor, a gift from Sunny. Nephis closed her eyes, her hand still on her chest, and took a deep breath. Remembering that Sunny had given her the armor made it feel as if he were close, even if she couldn't see him. The weight of it and the security she felt when she wore it were similar to the comfort that came when she could feel Sunny covering her back from the shadows.
Nephis opened her eyes and let out a breath that made her feel lighter. She turned her eyes toward the Crimson Spire. It was only half a day away, and tomorrow, the battle would unfold. At this time, the Dark Sea covered all of the land, but the Crimson Spire could still be seen as clear as day. Its color stood in sharp contrast with the complete darkness of the sea and the ever-gray sky.
After giving the key to their escape one final look, Nephis turned her back to the Crimson Spire. Looking for a place to rest, Nephis looked quickly around. Her eyebrows rose; she had spotted Effie sitting near a small fire. Next to her were Kai and even Cassie.
Nephis's face lit up at the realization. The group had separated when the Dark Sea started to show signs of emerging, as they worked to direct the army on the climb to the headless statues. Suddenly, as if born from the shadows, Sunny appeared and took a seat next to Kai without making a single sound.
Nephis, who was already relieved that she would not have to spend the night alone, grew even more cheerful. With a spring in her step, she headed toward the fire that housed her cohort.
"Lady Nephis."
The voice that called to her made her whole body feel cold. The happiness she had felt at the possibility of spending time with her cohort—time with Sunny—had been completely snuffed out, like the flame of a candle.
Nephis turned her face to the right, her expression completely emotionless. Caster was there, looking at her. He was the one who had called out to her.
"Yes, what can I do for you?" Nephis said in a voice that had no inflection. She had to control the smoldering rage that came over her every time she saw Caster and his fake politeness. Caster still seemed to believe that his act of being the perfect right-hand man had fooled her.
"Would you mind if we talked about the plans for tomorrow?" Caster asked. Nephis had always put on a mask of emotionlessness when talking to him, so he didn't suspect anything was wrong with his plan.
"I believe everything has been explained," Nephis pushed out, attempting to get rid of Caster and his disgusting fakeness.
"Double-checking details never hurt anybody, Lady Nephis," Caster said, trying to sound reasonable while giving her a smile.
Nephis really had to hold herself back at the sight of that smile. She wanted to slap it off his face. She wanted to sear his flesh with her flames until there was nothing left of him. She wanted to choke the life out of him until he could no longer show her that fake smile.
With a titanic effort, she brought her thoughts and emotions under control and, with a wave of her hand, pointed toward her cohort.
"Follow me," Nephis said, starting to walk without bothering to see if Caster was following behind her.
________
"Hold formation and push forward!" Nephis screamed over the sounds of dying nightmare creatures and people alike. Multiple others screamed out the same order, relaying it to those in the center and the back. Nephis dodged the attack of a Carapace Centurion by ducking and stabbing it with the Silver Slayer. The nightmare creature fell dead, but there was no rest; two Carapace Scavengers climbed over the corpse and started attacking her.
Nephis dodged the attack of the closest Carapace Scavenger and slashed in an upwards arc, cutting off the head of the second Scavenger. Without losing momentum, she brought down the longsword on the head of the first Carapace Scavenger, its viscous blood spraying and covering her. Nephis tried to clean her face using her free hand.
Nephis looked up in time to drop flat to the ground. A second later, a flying nightmare creature swept down and took off the head of someone who was fighting next to her.
"KEEP SHOOTING!! DON'T LET THEM COME DOWN!!" Kai's shouted order to his archers could be heard all the way to the vanguard, where Nephis was currently leading the attack. Kai was positioned in the middle of the formation along with Caster, who was providing support to the flanks, and Cassie, who was scanning the battlefield for the weakest part of the nightmare horde and directing the attack.
A Carapace Demon slammed into Nephis, who blocked the blow using the Silver Slayer. The Demon was relentless, pushing against Nephis with all its might. Nephis started to slide. The Carapace Demon was succeeding in making Nephis feel desperation rising from her stomach.
Suddenly, the Carapace Demon was sent flying to the left. The demon collided with others of its species, knocking them to the ground. Nephis looked up; she had been pushed to her knees in the struggle with the Carapace Demon.
Effie was standing over her, giving Nephis the biggest smile she had ever seen on the huntress's face. "You ok, Princess?" Effie said, offering her hand.
"Yeah," Nephis said, grabbing Effie's hand and letting the huntress pull her to her feet. Effie wore her bronze armor; in one hand, she held her bronze spear, and in the other, her heavy bronze shield. Effie looked as though she were right at home in a battle as chaotic as this.
"Princess, you know I never say no to a good fight, but what is taking Sunny so long?" Effie shouted over the noise of the battle. Nephis thought back to the plan. Sunny was tasked with moving through the battlefield, using his shadow abilities to stay undetected and finally open the door.
"Something's wrong. Something's not right. Sunny is in trou—" Before Nephis could fall deeper into the dark parts of her mind, the sound of ancient hinges moving reverberated across the battlefield.
Everything stopped. The battle. The screams. Creatures and humans alike were looking at the massive doors, which had not been opened in millennia. As the doors opened wider, a lone figure could be seen inside. It was a boy, small for his age and dressed in all black.
Sunny had opened the doors.
"PUSH FORWARD!" Effie screamed at the top of her lungs.
With a roar, the army forced its way through the creatures. At some point, formations were forgotten, and everyone just tried desperately to get through those doors.
Eventually, and with a great effort, Nephis and Effie managed to get inside with other members of the vanguard. Then came Kai, Cassie, and Caster, followed by people from the middle and the flanks. As the people from the rear were about to reach the hall, the doors started closing.
The members of the rear looked at the sight with horror. Many of them disregarded their safety and pushed forward, making it inside; others did the same and died in the process. The rest didn't make it, and the doors closed in their faces.
The people inside the hall listened in horror as the sounds of the slaughter outside reached them.
"Wha—what happened? Wh—why would the doors close?" Nephis was frozen. Her body was cold and her feet were heavy, as if encased in lead. Screams and pleas to open the doors bounced off the naked walls of the hall, amplifying the horrible chorus.
"We need to move, Princess," Effie said in a low voice, placing her calloused hand on Nephis's shoulder.
Nephis took a deep, shuddering breath and nodded.
"GROUP UP!! WE ARE STILL NOT FREE!!" Effie shouted directions at the survivors who had fallen to the floor. Nephis looked around at the people who had followed her to this hell. People were crying, shaking, hugging themselves, and hugging others. They looked battered and exhausted.
Nephis's eyes started taking in the hall. It was as red and made of the same material as the Crimson Labyrinth. Her eyes fell on a figure. Black hair cascaded over his face, covering it. The figure was dressed in all black and was leaning weakly against a wall, out of sight.
Nephis's world narrowed; her breathing grew agitated. The world turned on its axis, and a deafening silence filled her ears.
"Su—Sunny?!" A desperate cry came from Nephis as she willed her legs forward, though they wanted to give out under her.
Nephis reached Sunny and dropped to her knees in front of him. Her hands searched his body, desperately seeking what was wrong with him.
"Le—let me see. Sunny, please let me see where you're hurt," Nephis pleaded. Sunny groaned as he turned his body towards Nephis. The sound broke something inside Nephis.
The shadows that were covering Sunny receded, and Nephis's blood turned cold. Blood gushed out from a horrific wound on Sunny's chest as soon as the shadows receded. Deep red blood kept coming out without pause.
A whimper of desperation came from Nephis's chest. With a ragged hitch of her breath, the world turned into a watery blur.
Nephis looked at Sunny's face. A pained but crooked smile was plastered there.
"It—it's not as ba—" Sunny tried to say, before he was attacked by a fit of coughing, blood spilling out of his mouth.
Nephis came out of her shock and quickly started healing him. With each moment that passed, both Sunny and Nephis felt the suffering. Nephis could feel the pain of Sunny's wound on top of the pain that invoking the flames brought her. Sunny felt the pain of his body mending itself together at a rapid pace. Halfway through the healing process, Nephis noticed that Sunny's blood started to move strangely. It seemed to Nephis like it had a mind of its own and was helping her heal Sunny.
Nephis fell forward, landing roughly on Sunny's healed chest. Sunny let out a grunt of pain at the impact but gave no further complaints.
Moments passed where the rising and falling of each other's chests was all that existed in the world. Nephis could feel the heat emanating from Sunny's body; she could hear his heart beating strong and steady. The sound brought her comfort. Nephis let out a soft breath.
Sunny raised an arm and placed it gently on Nephis's back. She moved slightly, shifting her weight from his chest but not breaking the embrace.
"Thanks, Neph," Sunny said, his voice exhausted.
Nephis only nodded.
Seconds continued to pass, and Nephis did not move.
"Neph, they're looking at us," Sunny whispered in her ear.
"I don't care," Nephis whispered back. She was exhausted and just wanted to lie down and rest. The seven-day journey, plus the fight that lasted hours just to enter this cursed place, had started taking a toll on her mind and body. Nephis just wanted to feel comfort for a while, and Sunny was right there. He was warm and firm against her skin. Nephis found that even with the blood, sweat, and grime that was covering Sunny, to her, he smelled good. It was a comforting smell—one that Nephis didn't want to be away from.
"Nephis, you need to lead them," Sunny said, laying his head in the crook of her neck.
Nephis let out a breath, not wanting to let this moment go.
"Don't worry, I'm right behind you," Sunny whispered, pushing her away lightly.
Nephis took in a deep breath, steeling her resolve and straightening her spine. She rose to her feet and reached for Sunny's hand, squeezing it lightly.
"Go," Sunny whispered once more.
With that, Nephis turned around and faced the crowd of exhausted people looking for direction. She looked at each one of their faces, and the fire inside of her that consumed all doubt flared up.
"It's time to go home," Nephis shouted to the crowd. For a moment, only silence answered her, but as the seconds passed, voices started rising. And those voices turned into roars of determination.
Nephis walked to the front of the crowd and saw some stairs leading up. Sounds of what were probably more nightmare creatures could be heard from them. Nephis turned around and faced the crowd.
"The end is near! Don't give up hope yet!" Nephis shouted to the crowd. The crowd raised their weapons and shouted.
"Now we climb!" Nephis shouted, and the crowd answered. Before Nephis started to climb the stairs that would lead them to their final battle, she saw Sunny looking at Caster and Caster looking at her.
The memories of Cassie's words surfaced in her mind.
______
If Nephis had hoped that fighting the nightmare creatures on the stairs was going to be easy, she would have been wrong. Every step that they tried to climb cost them blood, sweat, and tears. At first, they only encountered Carapace Nightmares, but as they climbed, more terrible nightmares joined their attackers.
From swarms of pests and living vines that tried to bite and ensnare them, to Bone Beasts that reeked with the smell of rotting meat.
The fight was nightmarish and repetitive. It consisted of killing a beast and taking a step, cutting down a vine and taking another step. The fight continued, and it seemed like there would never be an end, until suddenly there were no more nightmare creatures in front of her.
Nephis looked around, disbelief written across her face. Her eyes caught sight of an altar—the portal back home.
But there was something wrong. It looked turned off. Nephis realized that the nightmare was not over yet.
Suddenly, the sound of nightmare creatures approaching could be heard again. But this time, it was behind them.
"Effie, make a choke point!" Nephis shouted, turning to look back.
"FORMATION!" Effie didn't waste any time and assumed command of the situation.
Nephis turned back to look at the chamber and spotted another room. She ran inside and froze at what she saw. Inside, in the middle of the roofless room, there stood a Fallen Terror. The worst part: it seemed to be ascending.
_________
The song of cuts, slashes, and stabbing was Nephis's world now. Nephis had not wasted any time once she understood that the Crimson Terror could not move while ascending. Unfortunately, this had not stopped it from defending itself.
Currently, Nephis was attacking the Crimson Terror's body, but she could not stay on it too long. With a jump backward, Nephis dodged the coral tentacles that had come out of the ground. Nephis landed on her feet and ran towards a pillar, hiding just in time to avoid the bright light attack that looked to decimate her soul.
Nephis did this on repeat, hoping that the damage would eventually be enough. Nephis continued slashing, cutting, dodging, and stabbing. The only thing keeping her focused was the threat of the immense pain that would be inflicted on her if the light managed to touch her.
Running back to hide against a pillar, as she had done countless times, Nephis started to question if this fight would ever end. She didn't know how long she could keep going like this.
Just before she could fall into despair, Nephis felt a surge of strength. Surprised, she looked at herself. Her body was emanating a dark glow that could also be seen on her sword. Nephis looked around at the other pillars, and there she saw him.
Sunny had come and was taking shelter in the shadow of a broken pillar to her right. He gave her a look that could only be interpreted as "End this right now." She didn't need to be told twice; ignoring the pain from the light attack, Nephis raced forward. With the augmentation that Sunny had given her, the sword, wrapped in darkness, plunged deep into the Terror, piercing its core. She did not stop and activated her white flames, burning the corruption within the monster.
[You have slain a Fallen Terror, Crimson Terror]
[Your soul grows stronger.]
The Spell's announcement came as a relief. Right at that moment, the portal could be heard, followed by the trembling of the Crimson Spire.
Soon, the sound of the portal chamber quieted down until there was only silence. The army had gone through, and the nightmare creatures, no longer under the influence of the Crimson Terror, had retreated.
Nephis walked away from the Terror and headed to the portal chamber. Shortly after, Sunny joined her on the walk.
At this point, Nephis should have felt elated—happy that she would be back home and finally escaping from this nightmare.
But that was not meant to be.
The portal, the device that would bring them back home, flickered, threatening to turn off. Nephis had heard of portals like these: ancient portals that needed a constant amount of essence to stay active. It needed a battery, and Nephis had just killed it.
Which meant that now Sunny and she were the battery.
Which meant...
Only one could go back home.
Nephis looked at Sunny. On his face, she saw that he had come to the same conclusion.
"It seems the vision will come true," Sunny said dejectedly.
Nephis's hand clenched into a fist with the frustration that overcame her.
"It seems so," Nephis said through gritted teeth.
Sunny walked back, creating some distance between them. The ground trembled and he lost his footing for a second, but he recovered. When he was a distance away, Sunny raised the sword in his hand.
"Let's not waste time," Sunny said and let out a breath.
Nephis turned to him and mirrored his stance; after all, it had been she who taught him how to use a sword.
The fight started.
Nephis lunged forward, not holding anything back. Sunny received her attack, blocking and launching an attack of his own. The fight continued in this manner, each attacking while the other dodged or blocked.
Neither of them used their Aspects. It wasn't something that they had previously agreed upon, but simply a matter of respect—not tainting their fight, or their relationship, whatever it might be, with weapons granted by the Spell.
No. They would do this the old-fashioned way.
Pure, unadulterated violence and willpower.
After an especially brutal kick to her left leg, Nephis was forced to take a knee. Sunny didn't waste any time. His sword made an upward arc and came down, aiming for the top of her head. Nephis quickly brought her sword up while still kneeling.
Nephis and Sunny were locked in a pushing contest—Nephis trying to push Sunny's sword up and away, while Sunny pushed down, putting all his weight behind it.
At that moment, Nephis remembered Cassie and the weakness she had mentioned.
Nephis was losing ground and was seriously considering using it.
"Argh!"
Suddenly, Sunny let out a pained sound and bent over slightly. Following that, he was tackled off her.
Nephis fell forward, the force pushing against her having been taken away. On her hands and knees, Nephis looked in the direction Sunny had been.
"Nephis, run!" The voice that reached her was feminine.
It was soft and lovely.
It was Cassie's.
Nephis stood up, shocked. Looking at the scene, she could see that Cassie was quickly getting off Sunny, who was on his back with a silver object piercing his thigh. It was Cassie's rapier.
Nephis started taking a step towards them until she saw Cassie running towards her; behind her, Sunny was summoning a Memory.
A cold feeling took over her entire body, and her mind started to race.
He is going to kill her. He's going to summon the Moonlight Shard and aim it at her back, Nephis thought with alarm.
"Lost from Light, stop," Nephis said without thinking.
Ethereal, almost invisible white chains shot out of Nephis's chest and attached themselves to Sunny.
Nephis's eyes widened when Sunny, who was in the process of rising using his elbows, stopped.
The Memory had finished materializing.
It was the Endless Spring.
Nephis calmed down upon seeing that the Memory was not a weapon. Then she looked at Sunny; if looks could kill, she would be dead. The expression on Sunny's face could not be described with any word she knew. But in her chest, in her heart, Nephis knew she had wronged Sunny in a way no one else had before.
"We have to go; Caster could attack you any second now," Cassie said while pulling at Nephis's arm in the direction of the portal. She had reached Nephis in the moments that Sunny and she looked into each other's eyes.
Cassie's pulling grew more consistent, dragging Nephis towards the portal.
"Nephis, come on! You're still in danger! Caster could be waiting to ambush us." Cassie had grabbed Nephis's other arm, effectively turning her around and cutting the eye contact with Sunny.
Cassie had succeeded in pulling Nephis to the portal; they were just a couple of meters away.
"Caster is dead." The voice came from behind, stopping Cassie and, by extension, Nephis in their tracks.
"I killed him." Cassie turned around slowly; her hands, which were grabbing Nephis's arm, started trembling.
"Wha—" Cassie started to say, but at that moment, an explosion from the bottom floor threw both Nephis and Cassie back. Straight through the portal
[Changing Star, you have become an Awaken]
[Starting Appraisal]
_______
Nephis woke in her pod and tried to stand up, but her legs gave out under her. Suddenly, the door to her room opened and what looked like two nurses entered the room in a hurry.
"Take me to Sunny," Nephis said through her teeth while using the pod to lift herself up.
"Miss, please calm—" the nurse on the left started to say.
"Take me to Sunless now!" Nephis shouted while she let her flames run out of her hands, melting part of the pod and increasing the temperature of the room.
"Down the corridor to your right," the nurse to the right said, not wanting Nephis to bring her flames out again.
Nephis had regained some of her strength, so she half-limped, half-ran in the direction that the nurse had given her.
When she turned the corner, she saw Cassie reaching for a door and assumed Sunny was there. Cassie turned her head as if she could see Nephis and waited for her before entering. Nephis grabbed the handle without preamble and entered the room, Cassie following close behind.
In the middle of the room, there was a pod. Inside it lay a boy with black hair that had grown too long and a body that was too small for his age. Nephis looked at him—looked at Sunny—and tears that she didn't know she was holding flowed out in cascades. Her legs, which she thought had gained their strength back, gave out under her, and a wail of despair tore from Nephis's chest.
"I—I—I don't understand. He was working with Caster. He couldn't have killed him," Cassie said in a small, confused voice.
"Sleeper Caster from Clan Han Li: deceased. Write it down," a neutral voice said while approaching Sunny's room. The owner was a man with a clipboard. The man looked inside the room towards Nephis and Cassie, waited a moment, and left, saying, "We'll come back later."
Nephis looked at Cassie from her position on the floor, her body shaking, her eyes crying uncontrollably, and in a broken voice told the blind girl, "You were wrong."
Cassie paled and started swaying as if she had been hit with a sudden dizziness. Like Nephis, her legs gave out under her, and whimpers started coming out of her.
"What have I done? What have I done? What have I done?" The blind girl kept repeating over and over while she rocked back and forth, hands over her chest as if she were trying to stop her heart from falling out.
From other rooms, cheers and laughter could be heard. People were happy that they had escaped the hell of the Forgotten Shore. But in this room—in this room, there were no cheers. No happiness. There was only a maddening sadness and deep despair for what they had done. More importantly, for whom they had done it to
Between the tears that had not stopped flowing from Nephis's eyes, a slight headache emerged. The headache only grew until Nephis could not ignore it. For some reason, something deep inside of her told her that if she looked at her Runes, the headache would go away.
Nephis summoned her Runes and looked through them. Her breath hitched. At the bottom of her Abilities section, she could see something that had not been there before.
[Shadow Bond]
"Wha—what is this?" Nephis thought, scrunching her eyebrows together. The tears had momentarily stopped at the unexpected revelation.
Looking through it, something caught her attention immediately.
[Master's Watchful Eye][Essence Require]
[The task of the shadow is to be its master's eyes and ears while carrying out all the commands of its master to completion. But sometimes those tasks are far away. A master should always keep an eye on their slave, no matter in what plane they are.]
Nephis's tears started falling again after she read that description.