Sunless's POV:
(The Last First POV.)
Feeling quite dizzy, I woke up to the crushing sounds of violent and furious waves. It didn't take me much to realize that it was the receding tides of the Dark Sea that made that sound.
Sitting up straight, I was met with the familiar bluish-bright piles of Soul Shards that filled the cavern to the brim.
It really was hard to find an empty spot where the soul shards didn't fill the space by either riddling the ground or being in huge piles
It took me a couple of seconds to spot a a lone figure sitting cross-legged in the middle of a small empty circle holding a soul shard with her eyes closed. Soon the soul shard turned into ethereal fragments and disappeared into the air.
She opened her eyes and stood up from her meditating position. She immediately took a stance picking up her long sword.
Holding her longsword, Nephis was practicing a complicated chain of moves, her silver hair dancing in the air. There were beads of sweat on her face, as her leather black suit clung to her lithe body. Although a bit crude, her movements were limber and flowing, gracefully cascading into each other.
She was training.
Neph's swordsmanship was beautiful. And she was beautiful, too.
Illuminated by the dreamlike flickering lights of the reflective soul shards and dancing with a silvery sword surrounded by the glittering, ethereal lights of the gems.
It was as if she walked straight out of a fairytale.
And Maybe she was.
If our world was a fictional one, she would without a doubt be its main character.
Some time passed. And I wasn't sure how much exactly.
Once the sounds of the crushing waves subsided and silence took grasp of the vicinity I shifted slightly, as though escaping a reverie. By now, Neph's sword was the only thing that could be heard in the cavern, as it cut through the air.
I tried to stand up, but a jolting pain struck me through my shoulder. Looking down at my left shoulder, I found a neatly tightened piece of cloth as a makeshift bandage.
Memories of my fight against the Fallen Tyrant resurfaced in my mind.
'I must have fallen asleep out of exhaustion.'
This was where the Scythe-like leg of the Fallen Tyrant had struck me when I got distracted by Nephis and lost focus. I shouldn't have received such damage with the marble shell in its active state before, but Unfortunately for me, its attack broke through my already weakened mantle, completely destroying its gardbrace.
And now that the adrenaline had subsided, the pain was kicking in, and assaulting my nerves.
But it was bearable though, considering the amount of things I had gone through.
I looked around in search of the body of the Fallen Tyrant, Thankfully it didn't take much, since the giant monster wasn't something to miss so easily.
As my eyes swept through the cavern, I noticed the countless worm-like corpses that riddled the floor of the cave.
It seemed like Neph and Nightmare were quite busy defending my unconscious body considering that most of the corpses were around the crater where I defeated the Fallen Tyrant.
My eyes soon found Nightmare hiding in the shadows near me. My steed was protecting my dreams.
A soft smile made its way to my face.
'Thank you...'
The Shadow shook slightly as if trying to tell me that it was alright, and then he dissolved into my Shadow, returning to the soul sea.
My eyes naturally found their way back to Neph. As I watched her sword display, I noticed something peculiar. As she kept dancing with her sword, her swordsmanship slowly changed.
The swordsmanship she was displaying wasn't her typical and usual unpredictable, and flowing swordsmanship.
But it seemed a bit more elusive and adaptable.
Was she trying to copy me?
'....Amusing.'
At first glance, she seemed to have caught on the core of my swordsmanship which was a combination of various battle styles. She almost seemed to grasp its essence, only for her body to respond in a way she didn't want it to.
Which was understandable.
Even I still struggle to work with my current body, which didn't go through the extensive shadow dance training I went through in the previous timeline.
I was barely making up for the lack of training through the precise essence control I had.
Dismissing my mantle to slowly restore itself, I summoned the transcendent tunic and slowly began to move.
I took a step forward to escape the shadows and made my presence known to her.
"Hey."
Nephis stopped and leaned on her sword, breathing heavily. Her chest was rising and falling, and her face was slightly flushed. Walking over, I summoned the Eternal Spring and offered it to her with a friendly smile.
Accepting the beautiful glass bottle, she sat down and wiped the sweat off her face, then threw her head back and drank greedily.
My eyes glanced at her slender neck and the beads of sweat glistening above the turtleneck of her leather suit, which was slightly damp and sticking a little to her body.
I looked away, but my eyes caught a glimpse of the bare skin of the exposed area of her belly.
A large hole was made into the black leather suit of her armor, which meant that her armor itself wasn't in a good state.
'It must have been caused by the attack of the Fallen Tyrant earlier.'
Considering the damage she suffered and the fact that she hadn't healed my wounds meant that she was completely depleted.
With a slight grimace, I returned my focus to Nephis. After drinking her fill, Nephis returned the Eternal Spring. I hesitated for a moment, then drank some of the cool, refreshing water myself and sat down near her.
He had completely forgotten what he was going to say.
"Thank you."
After a moment or two of peaceful silence, Nephis broke the silence:
"Have you gotten anything from that Tyrant?"
....as a matter of fact, I did receive something, but I still hadn't got the chance to take a proper look at it.
I simply nodded with affirmation.
"Yes."
She too, just nodded and turned to face the piles of soul shards in front of us. I remained silent for a couple of seconds, simply taking in the view.
Soon Nephis spoke again, her voice calm and tranquil.
"Sunny, do you remember your First Nightmare well?"
She sounded relaxed and idle as usual.
Casting a sideways glance at her, I hesitated for a second but then replied in an even tone:
"Like it was yesterday. It wasn't that bad though."
...by her standards of course.
She turned to me a deep emotion hidden in her striking Grey eyes.
"What do you mean by 'not that bad'?"
I pondered for a moment, a grin appearing on my face.
"As bad as you consider asking a starved, badly beaten, sick, and barely conscious ten-year-old boy to kill an awakened Tyrant on top of a freezing cold mountain with almost no clothes on or any equipment to defend himself against the Tyrant."
Neph's facade cracked, revealing a confused and twisted expression as if she couldn't make sense of what she had heard.
Just how rare seeing her showing such expressions was?
"Well, that aside, have you ever tried the meat of a Fallen abomination?"
****
After some time has passed since our hefty breakfast, we both decided that it was time to leave this damned bunker and return to the surface.
As it turned out, I had been asleep for the entire night. I also thought that Nephis had kept me safe and sound despite her sorry state throughout the night, But as She stated, Nephis had gotten a good night's rest as well, thanks to Nightmare who was the one that actually kept on watching over them.
In the time I was unconscious, Nephis had spent a long time trying to find our way out of this bunker. But Without my Shadows to scout, it was almost impossible to find one's way out of the complicated twists and turns of the cavern.
As we dove into the depths of the cave we took several turns, we even had to climb up or dive down sometimes. We eventually made our way through the dark tunnels and Approximately one hour later, we arrived at a dead end.
But it wasn't the typical dead end we expected.
We expected that it would be the same as the entrance we had come through, or at least a part of the cavern that the Fallen Tyrant hadn't dug into yet, but we were met with a set of criss-crossed iron bars that blocked off our way through.
Getting closer, I took hold of one of the iron bars and applied a little pressure. The bars trembled in my grasp but refused to budge nevertheless.
I couldn't tell how many centuries had passed since this was put in place but I had no other choice but to go through.
'Our exit is on the other side of these bars... I could feel it.'
Taking a step back I locked eyes with Neph who was to my left.
"On the count to Three?"
I took a stance and readied myself to kick the bars. Neph too took a similar stance.
"Three!"
I yelled as I kicked the iron bars.
We simultaneously kicked the iron bars with Nephis being a second or two behind.
The cave trembled and shook but the iron bars which received most of the impact only had a dint.
Nephis looked at me strangely and genuinely asked:
"What do you think happened to Two?"
I replied with a shrug.
"We Should Ask One."
The second strike, however, had made a difference. Wrapped in all seven of my shadows, my leg easily broke the iron bars destroying a good portion of the walls it was attached to.
"As if that was gonna keep us in. Let's move."
Taking the lead, I made my way into the dark tunnel with Neph following closely behind. Soon enough I was welcomed by a hot gust of humid air that clung uncomfortably to my skin. However, the mild discomfort had held much greater secrets to its nature.
'How did those bars withstand the constant barrage of the Dark Sea all these years?....'
With each step we took, our feet splashed water over the walls. The floor itself was filled with black water which indicated that this place was close to the surface and the Dark Sea could reach this place.
The waters filled all the way up to our ankles and thankfully there weren't any nightmare creatures lurking underneath its surface.
Rays of sunlight slowly made their way into the tunnel and illuminated the dark space as the tunnel began to dry out. As we walked forward, we finally reached the source of the light.
Finally, The tunnel entrance brought us to the surface as the light from the artificial Sun shined over our heads and far into the horizon.
We were soon surrounded by the familiar landscape of the crimson coral's labyrinth.
I turned around and looked at my companion.
"We made it Neph."
I said, a huge smile rested on my face.
Neph replied with a soft smile of her own.
"Yeah."
Now, nothing was holding us back from reaching the Dark City.
My eyes shifted slightly and focused just behind Nephis. There was a giant piece of ashen-white stone that blocked our view which I believed was the back part of the huge skull that we went through on our arrival.
The Dark City was just beyond it to the south.
As we started to make our way around the skull, Neph's voice called out.
"Sunny."
I turned around to face her with a questioning look on my face, urging her to continue.
"Can I ask you for a favor?"
I blinked.
"What is it?"
She hesitated for a few moments.
"After my fight with Gunalug is over, if... when I win, I might not be in the best shape. Even if I am, there will be a flood of soul essence pouring into my body. It will incapacitate me for a bit."
I immediately knew what she was talking about. The changes that happened to the body after a small portion of soul essence was consumed were subtle, but in large quantities, it could be disorienting, sometimes even debilitating for a short while.
And forming a completely new core was even worse.
Saving myself the hassle, I decided to play along.
"So what do you need me to do? Keep Harus busy while you recover?"
She shook her head, then looked away.
A light sigh escaped from her lips.
"No. I want you to make sure that Caster is nowhere near me when that happens."
Neph remained silent for a moment and then added.
"Caster has been sent here to kill me."
I remained silent for a few moments. Finally, it became clear that Nephis wasn't going to continue. Feeling a slight sense of exasperation, I asked:
"Why would Caster want to kill you?"
Nephis lingered for a bit, then shrugged.
"People have been trying to kill me for as long as I can remember. Have you forgotten?"
I slowly shook my head.
How can I forget?
"No, I did not. But what does that have to do with Caster?"
She smiled.
"They were not going to stop just because I came of age, survived my First Nightmare, and was sent into the Dream Realm. If anything, that would have been the perfect opportunity to finally make me disappear forever. Sleepers enter this cursed world alone, away from the protections of society and whatever allies they might have in the real one. Do you see?"
I simply gave her a nod, my expression growing dark.
Indeed, no one was as vulnerable as young Sleepers entering the Dream Realm for the first time.
Nephis sighed and looked away.
"In any case, when I enrolled in the Academy, I knew that someone among our classmates had to have received orders to make sure that I never return from the Dream Realm. I just didn't know who it was."
Suddenly, she glanced at me. The corner of her lips curled upward.
"...Actually, for a long time, I thought that it was you."
I blinked and stared at her in amusement. A light chuckle escaped my lips.
"Has I always looked that suspicious?... actually, never mind. What exactly about me made you think that I'm an agent of some secret Legacy cabal? Do I look like a Legacy to you? You do know how much I hate those people. Right?"
Nephis calmly looked him in the eye.
"Honestly? Not any Legacy that I know. But there were too many things about you that didn't make sense."
"Do tell."
She slowly raised her hand, and then began counting on her fingers.
"Let's see... you claimed to be an orphan from the outskirts but somehow managed to survive both the First Nightmare and the arrival on the Forgotten Shore. You didn't consume any soul shards, but kept growing more powerful. You said that you had never held a sword in your hand, but absorbed my lessons with astonishing speed, and yet somehow, you came back so skillful and strong that I couldn't even gauge your true strength. And finally, every other word you said was a lie, especially when it came to your origins, your past, your strength, and your Aspect."
Running out of fingers on one hand, she made a fist and pointed to it:
"Need I continue?"
Sunny cleared his throat.
"Uh, no... well, when you put it like this..."
I did indeed look suspicious.....
I'm quite surprised myself.
She smiled and shook her hand, then lowered it.
"But after some time, I realized that my suspicions about you were wrong. If you were really tasked with killing me, you could have just left me on the Ashen Barrow. Back then, I was as good as dead. But you didn't. In fact, you risked a lot to take both Cassie and me with you. And even now, in our fight against the Fallen Tyrant, you have made my safety your priority when you could have easily saved yourself."
The smile slowly disappeared from her face.
"So when we reached the Bright Castle and Caster immediately appeared, insinuating his way into my inner circle, I knew pretty much instantly that it was him."
I took a step forward and cleared my throat.
"But then Neph....What are the chances that the person with orders to make you vanish was among them? Isn't it a bit too big of a coincidence?"
Changing Star slowly shook her head.
"Who said it was a coincidence? People often tend to forget that the Spell has a mind of its own. It sees all and hears all. And it really loves to play with fate. If there was someone among those hundreds of people tasked with killing me, the chances of me having a fateful encounter with them in the Dream Realm would be all but guaranteed. That is how the Spell always does things."
I had to agree. The Spell loved to play with fate.
Just like its master.
My whole damn life was proof of that.
Meanwhile, Nephis continued:
"Of course, despite my suspicions, I wasn't sure at first. But the more I observed Caster, the more convinced I became that I was right. He did everything in his power to get close to me, and then tried his hardest to subtly isolate me from everyone I could have trusted. He spent his time studying my every move, while keeping his secrets close to his chest. It's him. I've been sure of it for a long time."
I tilted my head, After a while, I asked:
"If Caster wanted to kill you, why hasn't he made a move to kill you yet?"
Even though I knew the answer to that question, I asked nevertheless and simply decided to play my role to the fullest.
She lingered for a bit, then smiled slightly.
"Because among all of the humans on the Forgotten Shore, he knows what the scions of the Immortal Flame clan are capable of the best. Isn't it ironic? He respects my ability too much to be careless... maybe even fears it. And he can't allow himself to fail. His honor won't allow it. So, Caster won't attack until he is absolutely sure that I won't be able to resist. He'll make his move when I have no chance to escape."
I faked scratching the back of my head.
"Let me rephrase that. If Caster wants to kill you, why is he still alive?"
I'm sure that if Nephis wanted to, the proud Legacy would have been dead a long time ago, but I knew she needed him alive just as much as I did.
Changing Star hesitated, and then said in an even tone:
"Because I need him for what is to come. It doesn't matter that he intends to betray me. Traitor or not, he is of use."
I nodded slightly. Taking one last look at her face I spun on my heels and proceeded with our march to the walls of the Dark City.
Nephis followed along.
And just like that, None of us had spoken a word since, until we reached the ruins of the Dark City.