Muffled, quiet footsteps spread through the almost entirely empty corridors of the Bright Castle as Nephis — the famous Lady Changing Star of the Immortal Flame Clan and a ‘woman with the purest and fairest of hearts’ — was steadily making her way to her destination, a silent draft that was slipping through the multiple cracks in the surface of the walls of this part of the Castle ruffling her silvery lackluster hair.
Even after three sleepless days and nights, countless battles and endless war councils not leaving her any room to breathe nor time to rest or even take a shower, the fallen Clan’s princess still looked enchanting, strong and confident.
Yet the first signs of fatigue could be distinguished, if one knew where to look: some movements of her body and her reactions were slightly sluggish and delayed; gaze a bit distant; eyelids heavy; breathing slower and deeper than usual.
There was no need to even say anything about her appearance, as she just came back from another night-long battle and had yet to spare herself any second of well-deserved rest.
Nephis was tired, apparently, and yet she didn’t show any weakness to outsiders.
Not only because of her pride and paranoia — though, they played a significant role in her behavior of course — but also because she wasn’t the only one who was working hard.
More than that, there was probably not a single person left in this thrice-cursed place who was slacking off.
So for her to show how tired she really was would devalue all the efforts others were putting into their common cause — their survival.
At least she believed it would, though she wasn’t an expert in human relations and psychology.
And now she was also walking confidently towards the place where a fellow hard worker — and a known psychopath — had taken residence.
A sudden movement caught her attention as a figure of a petite black-haired woman rushed past her, bringing with her a small gust of wind and a cloud of dust.
Nephis blinked.
“Wait, Aik–,” she yelled, already turning around on the spot; however, she couldn’t even manage to finish the line as Sunny’s greedy manager was already nowhere to be found.
Nephis looked at the empty corridor from where she just came and then exhaled, her lips quivering as if fighting a smile.
The crazy gremlin gravitated the most ridiculous people towards himself.
How else could she explain that she herself ended up crossing paths with him months ago?
On that note she continued her way silently and, no more than two minutes after, she was standing in front of the heavy wooden door of Sunny’s workshop-slash-living quarters.
She hesitated for a second before knocking on it, notifying the owner of the place of her presence.
After a second of silence, a quiet muffled mutter echoed from the inside that she could barely perceive, confirming the fact he was indeed inside.
“…damned bastard… can you keep your trap shut?!”
Her brows furrowed for a moment, but then she shook her head, a small smile slipping on her face.
That guy was as exhilarating as ever.
Nephis took a short breath in, controlling her quickened pulse and rushing thoughts and then opened the door, entering the room and taking a quick look around.
Despite the fact that the Devil preferred living in relative luxury — as became evident from his apartments on top of the Ruined Cathedral he occupied for more than three months — the place he chose for himself inside the Castle was anything but extravagant.
The room was mostly empty, having barely any light in it, with one small bed standing lonely at the very entrance to her left — in a little blind spot for those who came in, she noticed.
To her right, on the other side of the room, stood a simple desk with an uncountable number of parchments, scrolls, either discarded into corners or entirely unfolded with notes, blueprints or something else that she couldn’t quite see from where she stood imprinted on them.
Under the desk were several wooden boxes with all sorts of items in them from weapons to jewelry that, from the outside perspective, held no real purpose or anything in common at all.
She, however, knew for a fact that those little unassuming things would very soon become precious Memories that would save countless lives.
Behind the table, standing right beside the wall, were four huge chests filled to the brim with Soul Shards.
Other than that, several almost entirely empty shelves occupied two other walls and a broken cabinet was lying in the corner of the room, discarded and alone.
At the very center of the makeshift workshop stood the figure of its owner: a young man of relatively modest height and lean complexion, a raven-dark messy hair falling past his ears, contrasting with his pale, almost porcelain, skin.
Both of his arms were frozen in place hovering above — what looked like from her perspective — an empty space of his room.
Her lips tugged involuntarily as she gave him her greetings.
Despite the fact that there was a lot of muddy waters between them these days, he was her precious friend.
Sometimes brash, ridiculous and a little crazy, and apparently perverted; but also smart, kind and caring.
He saved her life so many times that it would be really hard to count.
Not everything was perfect with them — life never was.
And yet…
She shifted her gaze towards his face and the air got caught in her throat suddenly.
Those few days she hadn’t seen him didn’t do him any good at all…
Sunny looked troubled: his head was a bit tilted to the side, eyebrows furrowed and eyes narrowed, lower lip bitten a bit.
Seven unnaturally long fingers, provided to him by his Memory and Lineage, were slowly bending and unbending as if undecided whether to proceed with the task he was working on right now.
He shifted his gaze to her and looked her over for a second, registering the state she was in and then exhaled heavily, as he closed his eyes for a second and then greeted her back.
A quiet breeze of wind blew through the slightly opened window, making the papers lying on his desk flutter a bit, some flying off and onto the ground and widening the crack a bit more.
More sunlight entered the room, running over his face and falling on his eyes.
He winced and turned his face to the side.
Nephis gulped as she registered the state he was in.
If his skin was pale before and his build was always on the leaner side, now he simply looked unhealthy.
His cheekbones protruded sharply, his face sullen, deep dark circles and bags lay under his eyes, with his eyes themselves bloodshot and looking heavily at her.
The right corner of his lips was lifted.
“You look terrible, Sunny,” she muttered before she registered her words slipping out and then winced.
Sunny chuckled as he looked her over.
“Not the best thing to say after not seeing each other for a while, but yeah — you could put it that way.”
She opened her lips silently, her mouth feeling dry instantly.
She drifted her gaze away and swallowed almost painfully.
“When… When was the last time you slept?”
She saw him furrowing his brows at her question and lifting his eyes upwards before muttering.
“Since the afterparty… I guess?”
She could feel her facade slipping off, as her brows shot upward and she winced slightly.
She didn’t try to compose herself immediately though — there were only two of them after all.
And even now — after their countless disagreements and arguments — she still trusted him — believed in him — more than anyone else.
A sudden wave of guilt hit her and she drifted her gaze away.
Here she was complaining to herself of how overworked and tired she was and yet came to ask for help from the man who didn’t even have a wink of sleep for the past few weeks.
She was very selfish, wasn’t she?
“Sunny, you really need to rest. We can do this some other time. Sorry for–”.
He threw her a look and lifted his hands, interrupting her suddenly.
“Neph, stop here.” He met her gaze with a tired sigh.
“You probably have no idea how much load you’ll be taking off me when you Awaken. So you can count this hour as an investment in all the proper rest you’d be giving me in the future,” he said before smiling tiredly.
“The longer you hesitate, the longer both of us will have to go without sleeping. So let’s get this over with.” A long infectious yawn escaped him right after, as if to prove his point.
Sunny looked at her pleadingly and then muttered, “ASAP…”
He made an inviting motion towards where his bed stood and, not waiting for her reply, turned around to go and pick a chair for himself.
She stared hesitantly for a few seconds at his back and then let out a short sigh and nodded curtly to herself, agreeing.
No more than half a minute later, she was sitting cross-legged on the small bed, as Sunny was tiredly massaging his eyebrows leaning back in the chair in front of her.
She bit her lip slightly from the inside as she took in his features once again.
If she had met him in the city, she would have probably mistaken him for a slightly malnourished and underdeveloped Blood Fiend.
A quiet guilt and reluctance once again tingled her consciousness.
The next moment, however, a question that she had been musing on for a while formed in her head once again, and before she knew it, her mouth was already speaking.
“Sunny,” Nephis licked her lips quickly as she met his half-opened eyes, as he straightened his back slowly.
“Why are you pushing yourself so much?” He blinked at that, his gaze gaining focus instantly, as his brows furrowed.
She, however, continued reluctantly.
“You’ll run yourself into a grave like that. What is so important, that–” she coughed awkwardly as she shifted her gaze away for a moment.
“What are you fighting for, Sunny?”
She watched as he slowly looked her over, his gaze drifting up slowly, before he connected their eyes once again and held her gaze for a few seconds, his head tilted to the side a bit.
A small smile momentarily slipped onto his face, then something twisted beneath the skin of his face and then his expression turned completely blank and distant.
After a few seconds of silence, he finally blinked, very slowly, and then let out a short and sharp exhale.
“I know what you’re trying to ask,” he finally started, his lips stretching slightly as if in amusement.
“And like before, I won’t be revealing everything until we return to Earth. Though, I can tell a thing or two, I guess. I owe you that much, at least. Even though I’m dead tired.”
Nephis’s eyebrows rose slightly and his smile spread, registering her reaction.
He chuckled.
“What am I fighting for, huh?” he drawled thoughtfully before chuckling quietly.
“I fight for a lot of things, I guess. For this rotten dying world that is about to fall apart; for the lives of humans that live in it; for my sister; for you, Cassie, Kai, Effie, Jet and all of my other friends; for myself and my freedom.”
‘He is speaking in riddles once again.’ she thought tiredly.
While his Flaw was harsh in its straightforwardness, this slithery gremlin found ways to walk around the topics of conversation and not really answer a question at all.
Nephis was actually impressed, if she were honest.
If only her own Flaw were as easy to fool…
Sunny drifted his gaze away for a second, his smile spreading and pupils narrowing.
He let out a short and quiet giggle.
“I’m a very selfish and greedy man, Neph. And my selfishness led me to commit so many mistakes, to make so many terrible choices in the past. And now… now that I have a chance to make everything better? It pushes me not to fix some single thing; not to pick my fights carefully. No,” he chuckled, his eyes changing their color in this weak lighting momentarily as he shook his head.
“I want to fix everything. To have everything. I don’t want to take half-measures or the easy way out. It’s a challenge to me, Neph. Either I win and if I do there won’t be anything to look back with regret at, or I die giving my all. There is no third option for me. Not anymore.”
She felt her heart being squeezed, as she listened to him almost painfully.
That actually sounded so very familiar to her.
Wasn’t that exactly what she was striving for?
Either everything she wished upon the world came true, or she died while trying to push that change?
To kill the hateful Ghouls.
To destroy the Spell.
To revive the Immortal Flame — as an optional, but not unpleasant bonus sometime in between — to what it once was, before…
Well, she wasn’t really sure how to name what her father tried to do before his death.
She sighed, as her thoughts once again drifted to her past.
She couldn’t help those thoughts — they surfaced one way or another anyways.
What did she think about her father?
What did she want to think?
Did he love her?
If she were honest with herself… he probably did.
But she wasn’t sure.
He was always distant and strict, but not unkind.
She could still remember him looking at her so longingly, so distantly and so bitterly too.
Even to this day she wasn’t sure what her father must have felt every time he put his eyes on her.
Did she resemble her mother even while she was basically still an infant?
Did the mere fact of her existence move something in his soul?
Did she really even want to know that?
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No, she didn’t.
Despite the fact that he was her father and a widely known hero, she couldn’t forgive him.
For years of absence.
For his selfishness and recklessness.
For what he turned their Clan into.
For destroying countless human lives in whatever goals he was pursuing in his mad daze.
For the fact that being that madman’s daughter put her grandmother, their retainers and Nephis herself under the assault of the Great Clans and the hateful Sovereigns.
For her destroyed childhood and for the state their world ended up in.
Nephis despised her father.
Simple as that.
And yet… she despised the three even more.
She might have even forgiven the Ghouls.
Damn it, she might have even agreed with them that it was a good choice to put him down, until he pulled all of humanity with him.
But they didn’t stop there, did they?
They decided to hide; put all of humanity under their thumb; shirk their responsibility; and finally gatekeep all others from progressing further.
Besides the fact that they made her childhood and lives of people close to her a hell.
So they should die.
Sooner or later.
She would destroy them.
Tear all of them apart — one by one.
She would destroy a vicious, rotten world.
And build something different, better and beautiful.
That was her ambition.
One that she had no other choice but to achieve.
Or die giving her best, as Sunny just said.
So she could relate.
More than that in fact.
Even though she knew only the surface of the puzzle that he was… Why did that fact fill her with so much warmth?
To have a kindred spirit so close to her?
Suddenly Sunny voiced his thoughts quietly once again, bringing his attention back to her.
“Do I even care about all the other Sleepers and their possible survival?” Sunny muttered suddenly, as he furrowed his brows, scratching his cheek, before nodding slowly.
“I guess I do. Enough for me to risk all of our lives for them, though?” He shook his head slowly.
“Definitely not.”
Nephis blinked, her mouth opening the very next second to ask the logical question, before he stopped her with a gesture of his hand and shook his head, his expression distant yet again.
“You see, Neph, I was in a similar situation before: whether to save myself and my… friends or go against an undefeatable foe and die trying to save countless people I barely knew…” he smiled, before his expression twisted and his teeth ground.
“I made the second choice that day.”
Her eyes widened.
‘What… What does that even mean?
That doesn’t make any sense.’ was the first thought that surfaced in her mind and almost slipped away from her lips.
Sunny, however, threw her one short knowing look and, as if reading her mind, continued.
“And you know what happened after?” a hoarse voice whispered bitterly.
“All of them died. My friends. People that I was supposed to protect. Consumed by the soul-freezing cold. And I, being the last man standing and surrounded by my dead comrades’ bodies,” he swallowed bitterly, gritting his teeth.
“…chose to save my damned skin back then. And ran, hid, cowered like a disgusting bug!”
He hissed his last words, his fists clenched and shaking slightly.
Sunny looked away sharply and stared at the floor for a while, breathing heavily, before a quiet sound escaped his lips once again.
“Do you understand now, Neph? What my goal is? Why I didn’t want to proceed with challenging a Nightmare? I want a perfect victory — or one as close to it as possible. That is my goal.”
She lowered her eyes.
She didn’t understand, not really.
She never made such a choice, nor did she feel despair after seeing what it led to.
She was ready to, though.
She was ready to sacrifice so many lives for her survival; for her revenge; and for all her other goals too.
Did that make her a terrible person?
It probably did.
From the outside perspective, she would look not only like a third-rate villainess, but a hypocrite too.
Didn’t she despise her father for what his choices — that actually looked pretty similar on the surface didn’t they?
— led to?
So the apple didn’t fall that far from the tree, did it?
No.
She wasn’t him.
She knew better than to make the exact same mistakes.
She should be smarter.
More careful.
She won’t fail in the end like him.
At least she hoped… that she wasn’t.
Like Broken Sword, that is.
Nephis could feel her expression softening as she watched Sunny’s back relaxing slightly as he muttered something under his breath and then turned to face her once again.
“However, if I were at least sure that you — all of my friends — would survive the Second Nightmare — that there was no better choice on the table — I would have chosen it, without hesitation. Despite the fact that I would be failing again; that I would be taking the easy path at the first sight of trouble; that I… would be running away yet again. I would have chosen you this time.”
She inclined her head slightly as she listened to him, something unpleasant scratching in her chest.
“Sunny, I don’t think I follow,” Nephis’s voice finally sounded, as a first sign of irritation slipped into her tone.
“You didn’t want to challenge Nightmare, because… the last time you faced such a choice you chose to save everyone and that backfired?
And now you’re choosing the same thing and expect different results?
Do you know the definition of madn–” He looked at her, dumbfounded, before she muttered, “Never mind that…”
Sunny laughed briefly as he looked at her with light amusement on his tired face and shook his head with a sigh.
“I’m choosing the same thing not because I want to believe the result will be different. No… It’s just I know for a fact that our cohort won’t survive the Second Nightmare, while we at least have a chance to escape through the Gateway if we siege the Spire.”
She felt herself becoming agitated, her chest tightening at the challenge coming from his words, but before she decided to go deeper into the argument, she stopped herself and let herself think about what he said more profoundly.
Yes, it was a fact that any Nightmare was called that way for a reason; it was a hellish experience.
However, she knew what their cohort was capable of, and despite being mere Sleepers, if anyone had a chance of pushing through, it would be them.
However, yes, even if they brought with them a hundred of the strongest Sleepers the City had to the Nightmare, the survival rate would have been abysmal.
And being apart from each other for unknown periods of time after entering, while surrounded by beings that were supposed to be a challenge even for Awakened…
Nephis was probably still missing something — she could feel it.
Though Sunny’s next words were going to bring more clarity to the situation, she was sure.
Nephis nodded slowly for him to proceed.
Sunny looked at her for a second, his expression not giving away anything, yet seemingly aware of the inner turmoil that she was going through right now.
Nephis had to force herself not to frown at that infuriating person.
“Say, do you remember the story of the Starlight Legion and their way to create the artificial sun?” Fully aware that she would remember such an important piece of history, he proceeded without waiting for her to reply.
“I believe that that particular Nightmare would have been centered around those events.”
Well, that was only logical.
She believed that there were only two possible paths that any Nightmare located on the Forgotten Shore could follow: either the events that led to the creation of Crimson Spire and Nameless Sun or… the ones that destroyed the previous sun, stars and most of the human population before that.
The latter would be a death sentence for all of them for sure and would be overkill for a Second Nightmare, she was sure, so it would be safe to assume that — unless there was another important event they weren’t aware of that could be used as a basis for it — then the Seed would be centered around the former piece of history.
And while she was sure that the journey of the Starlight Legion was a hell of its own caliber, she also believed that they would have had a fair chance of surviving that, if they chose to.
If their cohort and a few dozen other Sleepers had managed to enter the Seed, they would’ve most likely possessed the bodies of normal soldiers, as the founders were most likely Saints and then…
Suddenly her eyes widened, as her mind ran through the known history they managed to discover, realization hitting her in the gut.
She let out a short sharp breath.
Yeah, now… Now she believed she could understand him.
He gave her a small smile, seemingly catching her change of expression despite her best efforts.
“Yes, that is the reaction I had,” he muttered quietly before shaking his head.
“While we have a good chance of surviving the long journey of the Legion — that must have taken years, by the way — you know exactly how this story ended…”
She stared at him for a second and nodded slowly before letting out a shaky breath and muttering simply, “…All of them died — sacrificed their lives. And unless we’d had any other ideas of how to create the Sun… we would have probably died too.”
Nephis cursed inwardly.
It was such a stupid oversight, really.
Something that could have cost them all of their lives, if they had proceeded like a battering ram, the way she had planned for them to move.
Then suddenly something shifted uncomfortably in her chest as she scowled and pointed her finger at him, small sparks dancing in her eyes.
“Then why do that charade at all? Why tell us about that Nightmare in the first place if it was a suicide? Wanted to boost your self-confidence, Sunny?”
Her voice rose dangerously high and she knew that the temperature inside the room must have suddenly skyrocketed.
Why did their conversations tend to end up in arguments these days?
It probably started when she and Cassie returned from their week-long imprisonment inside the Castle’s walls.
When they met the drunk trio with Effie comfortably wrapped around the crazy devil like a sl…
Nephis took a slow breath, dismissing stupid thoughts from her mind, not averting her gaze for a second.
Sunny was frowning at her, but decided against quarreling with her and, after a second of delay, answered simply.
“Because I thought that it was our best choice at the time, too.”
He raised his eyebrow, waiting for her to retort for a few seconds, and when she didn’t, he sighed before continuing.
“It wasn’t a play, you know. I wasn’t planning to undermine you. The drafts for the current siege plan were born exactly then. You can even say — accidentally.”
She watched him, her sudden ire receding as quickly as it came.
It was both convenient and irritating to argue with the most honest man in the world.
Two worlds, even.
Nephis cursed silently.
‘Damnation, I’m picking bad habits from him.’
Sunny’s lips flinched slightly.
The damned crazy gremlin seemed to have an uncanny ability to read her thoughts and emotions.
One day, she would find how he did it.
And then…
She’ll think about what she’ll do later.
Sunny opened his mouth and continued.
“You know how risky and crazy it is,” he smiled devilishly despite looking like he’d pass out from exhaustion.
“Well, what did you expect from me anyways? Yet even you cannot argue that we have a much higher chance of success than if we’d decided to go the other way.”
She was still in an argumentative mood; however, she didn’t find it in herself to disagree.
Especially in light of the recent revelations…
“Fine, you’re right,” she muttered reluctantly as she turned her face to the side, seeing how Sunny’s eyes glittered and his back straightened.
She caught herself before it was too late.
She definitely didn’t pout.
Not even one bit.
“Let’s quit with the reveals for today. The faster we finish this — the sooner we’ll go to sleep. You said so yourself.”
Sunny gave her a long amused look before nodding, as she straightened her posture and closed her eyes.
“Well, I have good news: you’re two thirds there already, so your Awakening will be pretty quick. Your Cores are already almost the size of an Awakened one, and just two steps behind in quality. Well done, Neph.”
A small fire of pride ignited in her chest, before she nipped it in the bud.
It was too early to relax after all.
She would have a lot of time to celebrate sleeping comfortably in her bed, after the long hot bath she would take.
Yeah, better get this over with.
“You’re already familiar with the process. Direct your essence out of the Cores and into your body. Only half of it this time.”
She furrowed her brows slightly but followed his command to a T.
Okay, now slowly — very, very slowly — move it back until it touches the surface of your Cores.
Then, spread it over it.”
That actually took her some time, as the essence refused to stay long at the surface of the Cores, either trying to slither inside or escape back.
After a few minutes of struggle, however, she managed to achieve some sort of balance.
Her chest started to tingle pleasantly.
Nephis could tell that something started to change.
However, like the times before, the last step was still escaping her.
Thankfully, she wasn’t alone this time.
The weight on the bed shifted to her left and then he asked quietly, almost into her ear.
“What are you feeling now?”
Nephis shivered, almost losing that careful sense of balance, before she composed herself.
“It feels warm. Almost hot. But not like my Flaw — in a good way. Pleasant,” she answered quietly and simply.
She felt him nodding slowly.
“Good.
Now the final part.
It can be either easy or hard.
Try to concentrate on that feeling and nothing more.
Let it grow.
Escape your Cores and onto your body.
And when it does… Push half the essence you have inside out, and the other, that is spread on the surface — in.” After a moment of seeing her hesitate, he whispered once again, “Go on, I believe in you.”
And that was the final push.
Suddenly that warmth exploded, without her even needing to concentrate on it.
And then she did exactly as he said.
A breath got caught in her throat, as her chest exploded in heat.
Three of her soul Cores suddenly grew in size and started crystallizing.
No, that wasn’t the right word.
Breaking and restructuring themselves.
But it wasn’t painful in the least, though.
The opposite really.
It felt so good.
So much heat.
So much pleasure.
Was it how her Aspect should have felt without her Flaw?
She wasn’t sure, but she would have been very glad.
Well, life wasn’t fair.
After a few seconds, her Cores suddenly stopped growing and solidified completely.
And then, a moment after, a quiet whisper reached her ears again, as she finally opened her eyes.
This time it wasn’t Sunny’s voice though.
[The Second Seal is broken.]
[Awakening dormant powers…]
Heat exploded once again but even harder, wrapping all of her body in its embrace.
She couldn’t control herself as she let out a few undignified sounds, but she couldn’t care less about it right now.
Nor about the cute little blush on Sunny’s pale face too.
Well, maybe just a little…
After that it was all like a whirlwind.
Her body started to shift and change.
Improve itself.
She could feel herself getting stronger.
Healthier.
Better.
It wasn’t a long process, she knew, however, it definitely felt longer than it was.
Not that she complained.
And then everything stopped in an instant.
Nephis blinked and then let out a small sigh of disappointment.
Well, what was she disappointed about?
Stupid girl.
She was an Awakened now!
The second known case in their world’s history to do that without Spell.
With the first one right beside her and looking gently at her.
Weren’t they sitting too close?
No, she didn’t think so…
“Congratulations, Neph. You did it. Attagirl,” he said as he patted her on the head.
She blinked and opened her mouth in exasperation, tips of her ears burning.
Was the crazy guy for real now?
She didn’t stop him, though, for some reason, and after a second he took his hand off and she followed it with a quiet sigh.
“So. How’s the feeling?”
Nephis slowly shifted her gaze away from him and onto her palm and opened and closed it a few times silently.
Then she stood up from the bed and made a couple of simple moves with her hands and changed a few fighting stances in quick succession.
A short breath escaped her and she let out a small laugh that only Sunny could hear.
Only then did she turn around and meet his gaze again, a smile playing on her face.
“Amazing. It’s incomparably better. I feel stronger, faster, somehow even smarter and like I slept for a few hours. Fatigue is still there, but on a far lesser scale. Essence moves through the body, like it was made exactly for it. Well, it was, I guess. And it is also more potent, too.”
Nephis rambled so quickly, in her excitement, that he probably had a hard time deciphering her speech.
It was so unlike her, she knew.
Suddenly that knowledge stopped her in her tracks and she felt a bit more heat touch her face, before she composed herself.
“Yes, it really is amazing. Thank you, Sunny. If not for you, I wouldn’t even be aware that it was possible now.”
He smiled, his eyes weary, and his body on the verge of passing out, but she could easily tell that he was truly glad for her.
“No need to thank me, really. It’s the least I could do for you. After all you’re–”
Whatever he wanted to say was interrupted as he suddenly strained and turned his head towards the door.
Nephis followed his gaze immediately, her Awakened hearing catching quick steps approaching the door.
She was in the stance before she knew it, ready to summon her weapon, and then unexpectedly Sunny was jumping to his shadows and reappearing at the entrance, catching the figure of an already-falling blonde who had bashed the door open, blood trailing down her face from a split eyebrow.
She was hyperventilating and looking pale with her blind pupils trembling.
That girl was Cassie.
The very next moment, Nephis was leaping through the room, almost missing them, still not used to her boost of speed.
“Cassie, what’s–”
Sunny was already trying to help her calm down a bit, but she interrupted him, suddenly clutching the collar of his armor with both hands and shouting in a hoarse, pleading voice.
“Sunny! Neph! Please help us. It’s Kai… He– He is dying!”
Hi there lads and ladies!
I’m back from a short break with a new chap.
And what a break it was.
Had a lot of fun on my little trip.
Also got kind myself one nasty large burn on my back in a little sauna accident.
So I’m gonna have trouble having a normal sleep for a while (as if I had any).
You better not knowing how I burned myself, it’s super funny and embarrassing at the same time.
Yeah I’m kind of an idiot…
Anyways, there should be at least two chaps this week (will try to make it three, but we’ll see how it goes).
Would like to hear your thoughts, theories and feedback as usual.
Thank you for reading me once again and see you all soon.
Bye!