On a rare occasion, Nephis looked genuinely bewildered.
She rubbed her wrists absentmindedly and stared at Senrix with a thoughtful expression, as though she had just learned something completely unexpected.
"I see," she said quietly. "I didn't know."
Sunny grimaced slightly, struggling to keep the venom from slipping into his voice. When he finally spoke, however, his tone sounded light and amiable.
"That's understandable. It's only natural for someone of your status not to know things like that…"
The moment he mentioned her status, a strange smile briefly appeared on Nephis's face. It was faint and difficult to interpret, carrying neither amusement nor anger. In the end, though, she simply remained silent.
Senrix also glanced toward Nephis with an apologetic expression before quietly looking away.
Some truths were too heavy to casually speak about.
The secrets surrounding Broken Sword were already unbearable enough for Nephis to carry. Compared to their father, Nero, the difference between the two was like the gap between earth and sky.
The atmosphere grew slightly awkward.
Luckily, Sunny quickly continued speaking.
"Anyway, that's my Ability. As for Memories, I have three. One is an armor, another is a sword, and the last one is… a really loud bell."
"A really loud bell?" Elysia repeated curiously.
Sunny coughed.
"Yes. Extremely loud."
Elysia looked strangely impressed.
"That sounds useful!"
"It's not," Sunny replied instantly.
Cassie giggled softly while Nephis quietly shook her head.
After Sunny finished speaking, Nephis seemed ready to begin her own explanation. However, before she could even open her mouth, Senrix suddenly spoke first.
"My turn."
Nephis immediately turned toward him with an aggrieved expression, clearly annoyed at being interrupted once again.
Senrix completely ignored her.
"My Attributes make my mind far more resilient than normal. They also make me naturally talented in combat, grant me an affinity with battle and flames, and strengthen my connection to the Dream Realm. I'm also slightly affiliated with divinity…"
He paused for a moment before casually adding:
"And like Sunny, I also tend to find myself in unlikely situations."
Sunny's expression subtly stiffened.
'Wait… he has something similar to Fated too?'
Instinctively, he glanced toward Cassie for confirmation.
The blind girl hesitated briefly before nodding.
"Um… it's all true."
However, unlike before, Cassie couldn't completely hide the shock on her face.
Sunny frowned in confusion at first, but then his mind suddenly caught up with what Senrix had just said.
'Wait…'
'Six Attributes?!'
Sunny's eyes widened.
Even Elysia looked utterly stunned by the sheer number of Attributes Senrix possessed.
Strangely enough, Nephis merely widened her eyes slightly before quickly returning to normal, though even she seemed mildly surprised.
Sunny, meanwhile, was inwardly screaming.
'What kind of monster is this airhead brute?!'
Most Sleepers considered themselves lucky if they awakened with two useful Attributes.
Three was already exceptional.
Four bordered on absurdity.
And this lunatic had six.
Sunny suddenly felt that fate itself might genuinely be unfair.
Meanwhile, Senrix continued speaking as though he had said nothing extraordinary at all.
"As for my Abilities, I can summon flames with different temperatures. Their colors change depending on the heat. White flames are the hottest, crimson flames come second, blue flames are also extremely hot, while orange flames are the standard ones."
Everyone nodded.
At the very least, they understood the basics behind different flame colors.
Elysia, however, raised her hand excitedly.
"So white flames are stronger than blue flames?"
"Usually," Senrix answered.
"Ohhh…"
Elysia looked fascinated, as though she had just learned some profound universal truth.
Senrix continued.
"As for Memories, I currently have seven. Including the ones I gave away earlier."
Sunny almost choked.
Cassie's mouth fell slightly open.
Even Nephis blinked.
Meanwhile, Senrix calmly counted them with his fingers.
"One is the armor I'm wearing right now. Another is a flask with an endless supply of water. Then there's a sword that's pretty sharp…"
Sunny twitched slightly at that incredibly lacking explanation.
"…another sword that can boost the morale of allies. That's the one I gave to Sunny. Then there's another armor, which I gave to Nephis. A cloak that can make the user nearly invisible in darkness, which I gave to Elysia…"
He paused briefly.
"And a quite big storage."
"…That's it?" Sunny asked blankly.
Senrix nodded.
"Yes."
Sunny stared at him in disbelief.
The four listeners were honestly not that shocked by the number of Memories anymore. After all, Senrix had slaughtered over a hundred Nightmare Creatures almost by himself.
If he didn't possess that many Memories after doing something so ridiculous, then fate itself truly hated him.
Still, hearing him explain legendary equipment with descriptions like "pretty sharp" somehow felt deeply offensive.
Sunny also finally realized why Senrix had insisted earlier that the morale-boosting sword didn't suit him at all.
Honestly, Senrix wasn't wrong.
A sword that inspired allies sounded heroic and noble.
Sunny was many things.
Heroic was not one of them.
The moment Senrix finished introducing his powers, Nephis quickly spoke before anyone else could interrupt again.
"My Attributes give me affinities with light and fire, as well as a strong affiliation with divinity. I possess two Memories: a rope…"
While Nephis spoke, Sunny secretly observed Cassie's expression.
From what he could tell, Nephis was indeed telling the truth.
But not the whole truth.
And judging by how hard Cassie was trying to suppress her emotions, the hidden secret among Changing Star's Attributes was definitely not something trivial.
'Interesting.'
"…and a sword," Nephis continued calmly. "The rope is extremely durable and can change its length. The sword is exceptionally sharp and can protect its wieler from soul attacks to a certain extent. As for my Ability… it can be used to heal."
Sunny immediately noticed her wording.
"Can be used to heal."
Meaning healing probably wasn't its primary purpose.
He was certain Nephis was hiding some of her cards, just like he was.
Still, healing Abilities were unimaginably rare.
An Ability capable of healing while also serving another purpose entirely was almost unheard of.
Then again, this was Changing Star.
One of the very few people in history to obtain a True Name during their First Nightmare.
Compared to that, possessing a terrifying Aspect Ability no longer seemed impossible.
'I wonder what rank her Aspect actually is.'
Outwardly, Sunny forced himself to look excited.
"You're a Healer? That's incredible! Having a Healer in our group is unbelievably lucky."
Cassie nodded enthusiastically.
"Neph is also an amazing fighter! You should have seen her fighting those scavengers earlier. Well… I didn't actually see it, but it sounded terrifying."
Elysia, who had finally stopped tormenting Cassie, energetically joined the conversation.
"Yeah! She went swoosh! swoosh! then the Nightmare Creatures just died! Then another one appeared, so she jumped again and swung her sword, then flames appeared and healed her body at the same time!"
Elysia enthusiastically waved her arms around while trying to recreate the battle.
Unfortunately, her explanation looked less like swordsmanship and more like an excited octopus having a seizure.
Sunny stared blankly.
"…I understood absolutely nothing from that."
Elysia pouted.
"You lack imagination."
Sunny ignored her.
In truth, he didn't need anyone to explain how terrifying Nephis was in battle.
He had already witnessed it personally.
Well… technically through the eyes of his shadow.
Or whatever shadows used instead of eyes.
Still, the memory remained vivid.
The efficiency.
The precision.
The overwhelming pressure she radiated while fighting.
Nephis fought like someone born solely for battle.
Before the silence could settle again, Elysia suddenly clapped her hands together.
"My turn!"
Immediately, everyone looked toward her.
"My Attributes give me the ability to implant ideas into people. For example, if I give someone the idea of survival, they'll continue struggling to survive no matter how hopeless the situation becomes."
Her cheerful smile remained unchanged.
"I also have stronger connections to emotions and souls, along with an affinity toward divinity!"
The moment she finished speaking, Cassie quietly nodded.
But for the briefest second, her face turned pale.
Very pale.
She quickly hid the reaction, but Sunny still noticed it.
Cassie lowered her head slightly, trying to suppress the turbulent emotions within her heart.
The description she had just seen lingered heavily in her mind.
[Angel]
Attribute Description:
"They were never born of heaven, nor sworn to any throne. Angels are the forgotten children of the abyss, where silence holds more power than prayer. Most beautiful when unseen, most terrible when remembered."
Cassie's fingers trembled slightly.
Just the description alone eclipsed almost everything she had seen before.
Senrix's Asura.
Sunny's Shadowspawn.
Nephis's Nephilim.
Even her own Memokeeper Attribute.
None of them carried the same indescribable weight.
Not by much… but enough.
The most terrifying part wasn't the grandeur of the words themselves.
It was the implication hidden within them.
Angels… born from the abyss.
That single concept alone felt profoundly blasphemous to everything she believed.
And then there was the final line.
"Most beautiful when unseen, most terrible when remembered."
For some reason, those words sent chills down her spine.
Cassie instinctively felt that trying to understand the true meaning behind them would only bring disaster.
So she decisively buried the thought deep inside her mind.
After all, she was still only a Sleeper.
Secrets of that level were problems for her future self to suffer through.