She woke up slowly, exhaustion still clinging to her.
The short rest she had allowed herself was woefully insufficient in the face of the two weeks of forced wakefulness she had imposed on herself. It would have to do, nonetheless.
"Remember me."
She did not react to the words that had flashed through her mind. They had been running on repeat since the day she read that message, and it didn't look like she was going to forget them anytime soon. Neither did she want to.
Nephis took a deep breath and opened her eyes to take in the room. There was no change since she went to sleep; even Cassie was still there, despite the fact that they should have been taking turns.
She took a moment to offer an appreciative nod to the shadow in which Nightmare was hiding. The dark steed had guarded her dreams, something she suspected she would need for the foreseeable future.
"I brought you food and something to drink," Cassie informed her quietly.
Nephis blinked the remaining blurriness away from her eyes and glanced left, where she found what Cassie had told her. She mumbled a quiet thanks and started eating. Another glance at the clock told her that there was still an hour and a half left before the Gate would open.
"Remember what I asked before?"
She took a sip from the drink to wash down the food and turned toward the Seer, whose blind gaze was set on the pod before them.
"Yes. You told me to stall."
Cassie nodded without turning to her. "Valor will attack us. They intend to use the Gate as their cover-up."
Her eyes narrowed dangerously, the ever-burning flame of hatred within her chest rising to new heights. She wasn't surprised, not at all, but the thought that they would dare be so overt made her clench her teeth.
"Let them try," she said, her voice as cold as her flames were hot.
Cassie tapped her rapier thoughtfully. "They will."
Nephis took a bite of bread. It was soft and fluffy, but the taste had turned to ashes after her friend's revelation. "What did you mean yesterday?"
"Exactly what I said," the Seer answered in a flat tone. The tapping of the rapier continued, nervousness shining through her careful control.
She fought the urge to exhale loudly. It was improper of her, both as a friend and as a leader. It didn't stop her from feeling deeply irritated by Cassie's penchant for dramatics.
"I need more than that."
If Cassie detected the undercurrent of exasperation within her words, she did not show it. "The result is far worse if I tell you."
"We have talked about this before."
Her friend shrugged, completely unrepentant. "You want me to be more forthcoming." She took a deep breath. "And you know what? So do I."
"It's far worse if you do."
"It's far worse if I do," Cassie agreed.
She did her best to silence the voice in her mind telling her that she did not have any proof but her own word of what she claimed. It was the same voice that spoke to her of poisoned food, of PTVs with bombs strapped underneath, of knives in the dark.
Paranoia's voice had saved her life many times, but it had also brought her plenty of grief, so she listened but did not allow it to dictate her actions. She couldn't avoid wondering how much would be different if she had been a little more forthcoming herself…
Cassie's voice brought her back before she could go deeper into that tangent. It never ended well when she did.
"Say, Neph..." She stopped talking for a moment. The tapping became slower, almost rhythmic. "If you were in my position -if you were the one stuck with these damnable visions- what would you do?"
Nephis did not waste time asking what she meant or any other useless questions. Cassie wouldn't ask such a thing without a good reason.
"It depends on the exact scenario, but as a whole? If they were telling me what to do or what to think, I would fight against them," she said in the end. "Allowing some vision to dictate my life is the same as allowing the Spell to do it, in my eyes."
A pale smile appeared on Cassie's face. "If only it could be that simple."
"Then explain to me why it isn't, and we can try to solve it together."
Cassie stopped tapping her rapier. "How do you think fate works?"
Nephis gave a faint shrug. It wasn't something she had ever spent much time considering. There had always been more pressing concerns than a nebulous force she could neither see nor control. It had only begun to occupy her thoughts after meeting Cassie, and even more so after that name…
Before her mind could wander down that path again, she answered.
"Fate says something will happen. And that something will happen no matter what."
Cassie nodded slowly, as though she had expected that answer.
"You're not wrong. You're just missing the nuance." She tilted her head slightly. "Let's say Fate declares that tomorrow morning you will wake up and drink a cup of coffee. Simple, right?"
Nephis frowned. "It is."
"But you're skipping everything in between." Cassie's fingers resumed their quiet tapping against the rapier's guard. "Most people wake up, brush their teeth, maybe shower, change clothes. A dozen small, forgettable choices before they finally drink that coffee. All those steps differ from person to person. Yet in the end, the coffee is still drunk. Fate is fulfilled."
Nephis nodded slowly. "Yes. So what's the problem?"
"The point," Cassie said softly, "is that Fate only cares about the beginning and the end. Point A and point B. It doesn't care how you travel between them. You can brush your teeth or skip it. Shower or not. Leave the house first. Cry. Laugh. Break something. It doesn't matter. As long as you drink that coffee."
A faint smile touched her lips, sharp and brittle.
"Simple, isn't it?"
"You're about to tell me it isn't."
Cassie's smile lingered for only a heartbeat before fading.
"That understanding gives you hope. If Fate only fixes the destination, then the road is yours. You can struggle inside those margins. Exploit the gaps. Make choices that still satisfy Fate while bending the outcome closer to what you want. You arrive at point B… but on your own terms. Encouraging, isn't it?" She chuckled faintly. "So you start becoming confident in your capability to shape Fate. You think that you can change more and more. A nudge here, a little push there. Finally, the time for you to make a decision comes. Before you is an event of titanic magnitude. One in which the two people you love the most will inevitably clash."
The tapping stopped completely.
Her voice grew quiet, almost impossible to hear. "So you choose one. It breaks your heart to be forced to do so, but you do." Cassie took a deep, steadying breath. Nephis did not comment on how much her hands were shaking. "Fate has dictated that the one you choose is the one who will fall. So you go ahead and give a vital piece of information to your pick. Something that should allow them to win." She chuckled faintly. There was no joy in it. "And you know what? It worked! Fate has been changed."
Her lips pressed into a thin line.
"And everything is worse for it. The new Fate is so, so much worse." She shuddered. "So what do you do but fight against it? If you did it once, you can do it again, right?"
Nephis did not comment. She knew very well just how bad she was with words when it came to things like this, so she chose to act instead. Her hand met Cassie's in what she hoped was a comforting gesture.
Cassie squeezed her hand. She was surprisingly strong. "You fight it time and time again. And lo and behold, you succeed once more." Despite her words, she did not seem happy about the fact. "Except that the new road is just as bad. So you fight against it too. Again and again. Looking for one that won't lead to an even bigger tragedy." Her grip grew tighter. "And then, as if you don't have enough problems, a new variable appears. One that doesn't just walk the road. It changes it. Shapes it to its own will and nobody else's."
Nephis' voice was quiet. "What variable?"
Cassie didn't turn her head. Her blind gaze remained fixed forward.
"You already know."
The smile returned, but this time there was nothing gentle in it.
"The tapestry of fate has been in disarray since that day, and it's only getting worse."
Nephis' jaw tightened. "Explain."
Cassie let out a soft, humorless chuckle.
"Before, fate was like a calm river. You could study its currents. Predict where the water would bend. Even if you couldn't escape it, you could learn how it flowed. You could angle yourself just enough to survive."
Her free hand tightened around the guard of the rapier.
"Now it's a flood." She exhaled slowly. "The currents don't just carry you, they collide. Split. Reverse without warning. Every choice creates ripples that shouldn't exist. Outcomes that once followed clean lines now branch into chaos."
Her voice dropped.
"When the river was calm, Fate dictated the destination but allowed the journey to remain stable. Now the river itself is unstable. The destination might still exist… but there is no way to know if you will reach it or a thousand different ones, each worse than the last." She paused briefly, the smile threatening to come undone. "And when the path keeps changing, you can't outmaneuver it anymore. You can't predict it. You can't even tell which direction is forward." Her smile sharpened, brittle as glass. "That's the problem."
Cassie laughed once more, and it sounded more than a little desperate. "So tell me, Neph, what would you do if you were in my situation?"
"I don't know," she admitted.
The Seer winced, her expression genuinely surprised. "You… don't?"
Nephis did not let her disappointment show, sure that she could tell if she did.
Deep down, she knew it, she was alone in this. She had been for a long time now.
Cassie might know her better than most, but she was still someone who followed her, not someone who stood by her side. She could understand. To her friend, she was a monolith of strength. Someone in whom she could always place her hopes. Reliable. Strong. Unbreakable. To her, she wasn't Nephis, but Changing Star.
She knew and understood. It did nothing to stop her from feeling like she was alone.
"I don't have an answer for you," she said gently, her hand squeezing softly. "What I have is the conviction that, together, we will overcome this."
The words echoed with confidence, certainty. She genuinely believed them, too. What Cassie described seemed like a daunting task, but then again, did she face any other kind? She had already done the impossible countless times. What was one more?
And yet, as Cassie threw her arms around her in a tight embrace, she wished there were someone she could find comfort in when she had doubts of her own.
-------------------------------------------
"What's the plan?"
Nephis stared around the table. At her right, there was Cassie, looking calm and confident. Kai was at her left, a mix of disgust and reluctant amazement on his face. Straight in front of her, there was Effie -the one who had asked the question- eating a burger. Or at least she called it that. In her humble opinion, if you had to dislocate your jaw like a snake to take a bite out of it, then it wasn't a burger.
"It depends on what happens first. If the Gate opens, we fight it along with Valor. In that case, act like nothing is wrong. Be helpful, but do not offer any more assistance than required, and if you can do it safely, take out some of their fighters." She took a deep breath. "If Valor attacks first… we fight."
"Are you sure they will attack?" Kai frowned, a faint expression of worry slowly taking shape on his face.
Cassie nodded without pause. "Yes. That's the only sure thing today."
"There is still time to leave," Nephis told them, keeping her voice carefully neutral.
Effie took a particularly big bite and chewed as noisily and exaggeratedly as possible. Nephis would have rolled her eyes if she wasn't sure that was the reaction the Huntress was looking for.
"Can't do that, Princess." She winked playfully at her after swallowing. "Do you have any idea how through the roof the housing market is right now? Where will I find another mansion to live in free of charge?"
Kai exhaled slowly, looking like he dearly wished his Flaw had been triggered. "What she also means to say is that we are your friends and won't abandon you like that."
"Yeah, that too." She took another big bite.
Nephis smiled despite herself.
"Very well, I will go into details about our battle plan next-"
She stopped talking upon hearing a soft knock on the door. They turned as one toward it, just in time to see Gorn enter, Rain carried beneath his arm like she was a puppy. She was even looking pitifully at them like one.
Kai frowned, worry clear on his face. "What are you doing here?"
Gorn exhaled slowly, looking like he would rather be anywhere else. "We caught her creeping around the garden."
"I wasn't creeping…" Rain mumbled under her breath.
"You were hiding in a bush," the man said flatly. "And pretended not to hear us when we told you to come out."
"I was just very focused on checking for hidden traps," she tried to defend herself. "Big Sis told me to always be vigilant about stuff like that."
Effie started laughing.
"Thank you, Gorn. We will take it from here," Nephis said, her face straight while inwardly fighting against a laugh of her own.
Relieved, the Firekeeper put Rain down and left.
Effie finished her burger and leaned back in her chair, the living image of relaxation. "What were you really doing here, Rainy Girl?"
She blushed, pointedly avoiding their gazes by looking down, and whispered something none of them could catch. It was adorable.
Kai smiled gently and got up to approach her. "It's all right. You can tell us."
Still looking down, Rain answered, "I just wanted to see all of you in action."
"I told you very explicitly not to come here today," Nephis reminded her sternly.
How could she be so reckless? They were dealing with a category-three Gate, as well as an attack from Valor. While the girl did not know about the last part, it did not justify her actions. A Gate of that magnitude meant that Corrupted Nightmare Creatures would appear, and at that point, even Masters like her and the cohort would be in dire danger.
"I was hoping to help," she finally admitted. She flinched slightly when Kai put a reassuring hand on her shoulder but did not move away.
"Are you crazy?"
Nephis did her best to ignore the smirk Effie had thrown her. The words had come out so instinctively she hadn't even thought twice before saying them. She was never living this down, she was sure of that.
Rain finally looked up, her expression defiant. "All of you are always talking about the impossible challenges you faced as Sleepers, just like me. Spell! Big Sis killed a Fallen Terror on her own! Why can't I be of help? I won't go fighting the Corrupted, but maybe I can help with the Awakened or even some of the weaker Fallen."
"What have I told you about comparing yourself to others?"
Nephis did not like doing this. It went too far into a territory she felt she had no place in. One that was reserved for the man sleeping down in the bunker. But in his absence, and as her older sister, she felt it was her duty.
The girl looked at her stubbornly, an expression so reminiscent of his that she almost smiled. "How can't I compare myself to all of you when I hear every day how great you are?" Then she looked down. "How can't I compare myself to Sunny when he's still out there, fighting against the Dream World all on his own with less than a tenth of the training I have?"
Nephis got up and marched toward Rain. She flinched when she approached, and did so once more when her arms rose to envelop her.
"You are Rain," she said softly. "Rain. Just Rain. Not my sister or Sunny's. Just you."
The girl returned the embrace, burying her face against her chest. "Easy for you to say."
"The challenges we faced made us strong," she agreed. "But you know what? If Sunny were here, he wouldn't want you to face them. And neither do I. They made us strong, but they also gave us scars that may never heal."
Effie joined the embrace, her tall form enveloping both of them easily. "Don't be in a rush to grow up, kid. There are enough killers out there, so how about you try and become a builder instead?"
Another set of arms joined the hug, belonging to Cassie. "Our path is our own. You have the choice to take yours. Don't waste it following something that doesn't suit you."
"You will grow into a fine Awakened someday," Kai began, joining the four-way hug. "But for now, you can focus on being just our cute little sister."
Rain laughed, and soon all of them were.
This was what all of them needed, she realized. A moment of levity before the battle that would decide everything began.
"Do you think he will come back?" Rain asked quietly.
"Doofus wouldn't die even if he died," Effie declared.
"He would probably say something like, 'Death is far too pedestrian for me, so I came back,' and just walk it off," Kai added.
"Then charge Death for the inconvenience," Cassie snorted.
"All while calling it crazy for thinking it could take him in the first place," Nephis finished.
They laughed again.
"You are still not participating in the battle. Also, you are grounded."
"Awww."
-------------------------------------------
Nephis took a deep breath, steeling herself for battle.
She was just outside her manor, waiting for her cohort and Firekeepers to get ready before starting the trek to the Gate. It was close, dangerously so, and it would open in less than ten minutes.
If she failed -whether against it or Valor- her manor and everyone in the vicinity would forfeit their lives. All the more reason not to.
While she waited for the last preparations, she opened her runes. It was a good way to remind herself what she had to work with.
[Name: Nephis.]
[True Name: Changing Star.]
[Rank: Ascended.]
[Class: Titan.]
[Soul Cores: 7/7.]
[Soul Fragments: 7000/7000.]
It hadn't been hard to completely saturate her cores after becoming a Master. The underside of the Chained Isles had been a death sentence before, but now? She could confidently handle many of them. She had even defeated a Corrupted Monster all on her own.
[Memories: Dream Blade, Evertwine, Starlight Legion Armor, Crown of Dawn, Dark Wing, Nameless Sun, Tainted Skull, Cruel Sight, Undying Chain, Covetous Coffer… Dying Wish, Blessing of the Moon.]
Despite what many thought, she didn't have a big collection of Memories. In fact, she barely had more than two dozen, most of which were oriented toward utility.
She had never seen a point in hoarding them when she would never use most of them. Handing a Memory to a follower who could make use of it or just selling it was the logical choice. Leading such a big force was expensive, and feeding Effie was even more so.
[Echoes: —]
She didn't see much of a point in keeping Echoes either. They never survived long fighting by her side.
[Attributes: Dreamspawn, Nephilim, Flame of Divinity, The Fire, Hopebringer.]
Her gaze landed on her last attribute. Hope's departing gift. A poisoned one at that.
[Attribute name: Hopebringer.]
[Attribute description: The demoness smiled, radiating light and darkness in the same breath. "They call me the vilest poison in all the realms. An incurable disease. A curse that brings nothing but pain. My answer?" Her smile deepened. "Hope is eternal. Omnipresent. It dwells within every being. Be it mundane, divine, or -unknown-, no matter how faint the spark. They do not fear me because I am poison. They fear me because I cannot be eradicated."
Your being has been infused with this inextinguishable hope.]
It had confused her at first. What was such an attribute supposed to do? What did it mean? With Cassie's aid, she had found out in the end. It was as powerful as it was insidious.
[Aspect: Light Bringer.]
[Aspect Legacy: Memory of Light.]
[Knowledge of Fire: Mastered.]
[Knowledge of…]
Upon setting sight on her Aspect Legacy, she was briefly reminded of Mordret. A frown almost appeared on her face at the memory. She hated him and everything he represented. What she could have represented were she to fall into the same path.
She had unlocked her Aspect Legacy after detonating her core against the monster, at which point she had also mastered the Knowledge of Fire.
Nephis had found it underwhelming at first. Others would get incredibly powerful Memories or Echoes, while she was stuck with just knowledge about names? Then, upon realizing the expertise that came with it, as well as the many names she would have never found out about on her own, she decided that it might very well be one of the strongest legacies in the world.
[Slave: Lost…]
She stopped reading at that point. She was about to engage in an important battle and couldn't afford any distraction.
"You ready, Princess?" Effie, who was wearing [Molten Shell], the armor awarded for killing the Iron Prince, patted her on the back.
"Yes," Nephis answered simply.
Kai approached, wearing [Ivory Scale], the armor awarded for killing Sevras.
"What should we do after this?" he asked. Nephis had to congratulate him later. If she didn't know where to look, she wouldn't have noticed the slightest of tremors in his normally steady hands. "Maybe go to the cinema? The director's cut of 'A Song of Light and Shadows' has just been released, and I heard the public loved it."
"Over my dead body," Cassie stated. Around her neck, there was a locket made of silvery glass.
Effie laughed uproariously. "Still angry, Cass?"
"Yes." The glare was obvious even despite the blindfold.
Nephis couldn't blame her. Her character in the original version could, at its most optimistic, be described as minor yet necessary. At worst… well, she had seen plenty of reviews stating that it would have been a hundred times better if the movie had skipped her altogether. Real life too, if some of them were to be believed. An opinion that could have been respectable if the same reviews hadn't proceeded to go into far more detail than necessary about what she and Sunny could have done if they were alone. Even Effie had found it too much. Effie!
"Don't worry, I'm sure they gave you a whole extra ten seconds of screen time," Effie teased.
The retribution was as swift as it was brutal. "And I'm sure that your character will say 'Effie smash' ten more times."
The Huntress froze, horror dawning on her expression.
"As amusing as this is," Nephis said, ignoring Effie's indignation with a straight face, "we have to go."
"No need. They are coming to us," Cassie stated.
Almost as if on cue, she saw a squad of black PTVs emblazoned with the Valor sigil crossing the street straight toward the manor. She counted more than a dozen of them. This was going to be difficult.
The leading PTV stopped barely a few meters away from her, almost insultingly close. From the front came a woman with black hair and vermilion eyes, a smile as sharp as any of her blades plastered on her face.
"Are we late?" she asked, her eyes doing a quick survey of everyone present. She seemed confident, which wasn't a good sign.
Then again, when did she ever receive the good kind?
"You are not," Nephis stated simply.
"Good. I wouldn't want to miss anything of what comes next," Morgan, the heiress of Valor, said.
Nephis narrowed her eyes, not missing the veiled threat but deciding to pretend she did. Did she know that they knew? Was she merely toying with them before going on the attack?
The driver of Morgan's PTV appeared next, and she forgot all about her words. He was a Saint, one of the strongest in the world at that.
"I apologize for the delay," Madoc of Valor said, his expression polite yet lacking any sign of apology. "I rarely have the chance to visit the Waking World anymore and decided to take the scenic route."
"There is no harm done," she said, though she only wanted to summon [Blessing of the Moon] and lunge at the Saint known as Whispering Blade.
Another pair of steps approached them. This time, it was an old man wearing an elegant suit and leaning on a black cane. Jest of Dagonet, another Saint.
Why hadn't Cassie foreseen this? Or had she, but decided it would be worse if she told them?
Dozens of Masters and Awakened left the remaining PTVs, and Nephis decided that, as much as it hurt her pride, she would have to follow Cassie's advice. She did not know what good would come out of stalling, but she had to trust that her friend knew what she was doing.
"I thank you for aiding us in defeating this Gate," she said. The words tasted vile in her mouth. So repulsive it almost made her retch.
"Don't mention it." Jest made a gentlemanly bow, the living image of grace and elegance. "I suppose you could say," he added with a sly grin, "we really opened the door to success, didn't we?"
Nephis blinked, idly wondering if she had been hit by a mind hex. When she saw Morgan groaning openly and Madoc closing his eyes in exasperation, she decided she had really heard that.
She could tell better jokes than the old man. She!
"Five minutes left," Cassie stated calmly, choosing to ignore the mental damage just dealt to all of them. She had already summoned her rapier, which was idly floating around her.
Everyone, even the Saints, nodded grimly at her words. A category-three Gate was dangerous, no matter the forces arrayed against it.
Surprisingly, Cassie chose to speak again. "Are you going to kill us now, or when the Gate is dealt with?"
Nephis' head snapped toward her. What had happened to stalling as long as possible? Was it part of the plan?
There was a brief pause as her words settled in. So honest that none of them knew how to react at first.
"So you did know," Morgan said, not seeming too surprised. "We predicted the possibility, though why you would still face us here is beyond me."
When Cassie stared at her, Nephis took charge. She had many questions to answer once this was done.
"Your clan has been trying to kill me for as long as I can remember," she stated plainly, no emotion in her voice. "Knowing that you would take the chance to strike at me is as easy as knowing that the sun sets."
Jest leaned forward on his cane, looking amused by the situation. "So you did know."
"That you serve a parasite too afraid of a little girl to leave her alone?"
"He is a Sovereign and my brother, little Nephis. You would do well to watch your mouth." Madoc frowned, a blade having appeared in his hand at some point. Given that his Aspect made things and himself invisible, it might have been in his grasp all along and had simply chosen to show itself now.
"He's a coward and a traitor," she retorted sharply.
Nephis took a deep breath to cool down. She wasn't one to get riled up so easily, but in this kind of situation, she felt it was justified.
Finding herself unable to do so, she glared at Madoc with white flames dancing in her eyes. She shook her head and grasped the materializing [Blessing of the Moon]. The curved blade shone faintly under the sunlight. "As for you… I still remember when you used to visit my home along with him."
The man flinched, looking away for a moment. "It feels so long ago it's hard to believe."
Nephis tilted her head, looking him up and down with an unimpressed expression. "I used to call you Uncle Mady."
"I hated that nickname," Whispering Blade answered quickly, almost by reflex.
She smiled. "And yet, you would always have that glint in your eyes when I did."
Madoc did not meet her eyes. He was staring into the distance instead, seemingly reliving a distant past. One in which things were simpler. Easier.
"You were a cute kid," he said at last, his voice almost cracking.
"And you were a good uncle," she added in a wistful voice, though she hated every word. Then her voice frosted once more. "When did all of this happen? When did we become mortal enemies?"
Madoc smiled bitterly, an almost fond expression passing through his face for a brief instant as he looked at her. "My brother ordered, and I obey."
"Is that all? You will kill me just because he told you to?" She shook her head in disappointment. "What happened to the uncle who said that one day he would like to leave behind the life of an Awakened and become a painter instead?"
Something forlorn passed through his eyes before he steeled them. "He realized that for people like me, there is no such thing as retiring."
"So you gave up," Nephis stated coldly. "You buried your dreams deep inside you. Became another blade to be wielded by Anvil as he wishes."
"I did."
Nephis shook her head again. "Are you content with this life? Was it worth it to abandon all hope for this? To be a butcher in someone else's name?" She smiled at him and extended her free hand. "It is not too late, Uncle Mady. You can still choose against this. You can leave all of this behind and be the man you always wanted to be."
For a moment, his will faltered.
Madoc looked at her, seeing not Changing Star, but a little girl with dark hair. He remembered her smile, the way she would pester him with questions under the amused gaze of Broken Sword and the cold one of Anvil. For a moment, he felt hope reigniting in his chest, the idea that he could be more, do more. That he could paint in a color different from red.
The tender moment was broken by a slow, impressed clap.
"I thought I was good," Jest said, looking genuinely amazed. "But this? Bravo, girl! It makes me feel like an amateur."
Morgan was staring at her curiously, her vermilion eyes dissecting her openly. "How did you do that? I would sense it if you had a Memory powerful enough to affect Uncle like that."
Whispering Blade snapped out of the influence carried by her words. He was confused for a moment, and then furious.
Nephis did not show any sign of being disappointed. She had not expected it to work. Maybe it would have if she had been willing to spend far more essence than was wise and there had been no one else around, but she wouldn't bet on it.
It had served its purpose of stalling, which was good enough in her book. And it seemed like she had done it long enough.
Hundreds of meters behind the Valor force, a jagged line opened in the fabric of the world. Almost immediately after, Nightmare Creatures of the Awakened and Fallen ranks started pouring out.
Despite her grievances with them, she could admit they were no slouches. The Masters and Awakened immediately formed a tight, controlled line and stopped the charging abominations in their tracks.
Morgan smiled sharply. "Let me guess, your plan was to trap us between your forces and those of the Gate?"
Cassie stepped forward, her rapier following closely, already aimed at the heiress's heart. "Yes."
"Not a bad plan, I will admit." The smile widened. "Though I wonder if you also planned for this." Dozens of Echoes appeared around her. Nightmare Creatures of all sizes and forms. The weakest of them were Fallen, and not of particularly low class.
Following her order, the Echoes dashed toward the Gate, relieving half the committed forces and allowing them to return to face Nephis and her cohort.
"Now, I think we have talked enough." A sword appeared in her hand. "Let's get to battling, shall we?"
"Formation Omega," Nephis stated simply.
For a moment, silence lingered as both forces stared at each other. Then the moment passed, and both sides charged.
-------------------------------------------
Her blade collided with Madoc's. Her arms went numb after that single exchange.
She called on her Aspect, and a white inferno responded to her call, bringing agonizing pain along with it. Her strength multiplied sixfold, while she left the remainder to attack.
Nephis clashed once more with Madoc. The Saint, not expecting the sudden increase in strength, faltered for an instant, a surprised expression on his face. She took one hand from the hilt of [Blessing of the Moon] and aimed it, palm open, at Whispering Blade. A torrent of white flame surged from within her, heading straight toward the man.
"Fire!" she roared, calling its True Name.
The flames swelled, bolstered by the Name and the sorcery-enhancing charm of [Blessing of the Moon]. Their size and heat grew manifold.
Madoc recovered just in time and sliced the air with his blade. Impossibly, where his sword went, the fire parted as if cut, leaving him unharmed except for a slight charring on his gauntleted hand, which had come too close to part of the flame.
From the corner of her eye, she spotted Kai, Effie, Shim, and Gorn engaging Jest. The Saint did not seem worried, handling them with casual ease. Cassie, on the other hand, was battling Morgan. They seemed equally matched for the moment, but she couldn't allow that fight to go on for long. The Seer was doing well, but she wasn't made for direct combat like that.
An invisible blade -exposed by the whispering wind- coming for her neck made it clear that she wasn't going to be able to help anytime soon. Or at all.
Nephis dropped into a crouch, her eyes narrowing, feeling the tension coil in the air. Madoc was there before her, or maybe not. He was invisible to her senses. The only clue she had was the faint disturbance in the air, the brush of wind where a blade had passed moments before.
She didn't speak. He didn't speak.
There was a moment of pause as they planned their next moves before resuming the fight.
Her [Blessing of the Moon] glowed faintly, enhanced by flame and sorcery. She summoned a thread of fire along the hilt, testing him. He moved -fast, impossibly fast- but she anticipated it. A flicker, a footstep, a faint distortion in the light. She reacted in time. The blade swung, met with a pulse of white fire that hissed against his defenses.
He vanished again. Her body screamed in protest as she forced more flames outward, her very self lashing back at her with agony. Pain tore through her muscles and lungs, but she pushed forward. Her mind analyzed, adapting, predicting. His movements were patterns -almost too fast to see- but there was a rhythm, a weave of misdirection she could learn… eventually.
She lunged. Madoc was gone, only the air vibrating where he had been. A footstep behind her? She pivoted, spinning the blade in a sweeping arc. The edge met resistance for a heartbeat, but he was already gone again.
The flames followed him, thick and suffocating, painting the world white. They clung to every millimeter of air where he had been. He slashed blindly into it, barely keeping himself from being consumed. The heat burned Nephis from within, her skin blistering and healing in the same motion, her every move a torment.
He reappeared at her left. She parried the strike, but the end of his blade still managed to nick her left brow. Her arms felt numb once more, and the pain assaulting her increased in step with the strain of resisting his superior strength. She staggered but did not fall. Her eyes traced him again, anticipating, adapting.
She noticed the misdirection in his movements now: each shimmer in the air, each vibration -even the faint smell of the perfume he wore- was a lie, a feint meant to draw her attention from where he truly intended to strike. He moved in patterns layered upon patterns. Even when she predicted one, the next was another.
Another slash, almost at her throat. She ducked quickly, but not quickly enough to stop part of her hair from being cut. She rolled forward before he could strike again and erupted into flames, covering her vicinity. The almost-silent hiss she heard told her that he hadn't managed to avoid it completely.
Before he could get rid of it, she chanted another Name, one far more sinister than the previous.
The flickering flames swelled, thick and syrupy, clinging to his invisible form like tar.
Madoc tried to put them out. He only succeeded in spreading them further. He tried to slash them apart like he had done before. They parted around his blade and went right back to enveloping him.
She tried to strike at him, but he danced out of the way, sparks already starting to coalesce where she suspected his arm to be, forming into a bright blue brooch that emanated a sense of coldness before it became invisible too. The flames died down almost instantly, and he went on the offensive once more.
There was a blur of movement, and he struck. He was slower, noticeably so. The brooch was not without downsides.
Sadly, he was still vastly faster. She parried, but the force drove her back. A cut across her side burned like molten iron, but she adjusted her footing, letting her flames lash outward in arcs and spirals, filling the air with white-hot heat.
He danced through it, disappearing and reappearing, forcing her to adapt at a pace her body hated. Her mind kept up, but her body screamed. Each time she called a Name of Fire, she channeled far more than she could handle, tearing her lungs apart. They restored themselves before she was done speaking, but the agony was one she couldn't endure for much longer.
The fire roared at her latest invocation, clinging to his invisible form like chains of molten agony for a moment before the brooch dealt with them once more. He twisted and slashed widely, inflicting another cut on her. He kept slowing down. Maybe, if she lasted long enough…
Another slash -far faster than the previous- reminded her that he wasn't above feigning weakness.
She responded on instinct. She spun, rolled, struck, and called another Name. Pain lanced her chest, a searing agony, but she forced it into the flames. The fire tried to cling to him, but he evaded, moving faster than she could reach.
Another strike, this one aimed at her shoulder. Instead of evading, she stepped into it, allowing the blade to cut deep. She lashed with her own, but Madoc avoided most of it. She did not miss the drops of blood now coating her sword, though.
Neither did he, for his assault grew fiercer. She ducked, dodged, parried, her mind never stopping its churning, looking for a way to win this.
Her blade whipped in a crescent arc, leaving a trail of light in the air. His invisible form dashed past it. And then, for a split second, he paused, having almost been tripped by her extended leg. The flames met him for a moment, but he was already gone the next.
A slash. She twisted. A feint. She rolled forward, fire trailing from her hands. His invisible form struck at her from the side. She parried. Too slow. Pain tore across her leg, blood scorching where flame met flesh. She bit back a scream.
Another flash of white flame, another Name whispered silently on her lips.
The fire ignited in a blinding explosion, and his invisible form staggered, just slightly. It would have to be enough. She used the opening, whipping her blade in arcs of pure white fire, slicing through the air he moved through.
Another misdirection. He spun, vanished, and struck behind her. She pivoted, barely, the tip of her blade catching his attack. Sparks and flame licked at her eyes, burning skin and lungs alike.
It was a dance of agony and precision. Of fire tearing at her body and invisibility tearing at her mind. She was adapting, learning. Each misdirection he wove, she noted. Each impossible speed, each slash, each phantom, was a pattern forming, a memory burned into her reflexes.
Her body screamed. Her arms trembled. White flames licked around her feet, trailing up her legs, burning her even as they surged toward him. And still, she did not falter. She did not consider defeat even for a moment.
Her eyes flared brighter than ever. She would survive this. She would win. If that was her w-
A pressure like no other descended upon the world.
The air thickened, dense and suffocating, as though the very atmosphere had turned viscous. The world around her darkened, shadows creeping into every corner of her vision, swallowing familiar shapes and distorting edges. It was as if the sun itself had been blocked, yet when she dared to lift her gaze, there was nothing. Not even a cloud in sight. And still, the weight pressed down, heavy and insistent, originating from somewhere far below, deep in the bowels of the earth.
Her mind, already battered by exhaustion and pain, tried to understand what was going on. What kind of abomination had Valor brought with them that could cause such an effect?
Around her, battle stilled. The clashing of steel, the roars of warriors, the wails of Nightmare Creatures, all fell silent. Only the forces struggling against the Gate continued their desperate fight, their movements tiny, almost insignificant against the creeping doom. Everyone else fell back, clustering together, eyes darting between friend and foe alike, the same unspoken question igniting in their gazes: Is this the doing of the other side, or is it something else entirely?
And then, from the corner of her vision, she noticed it.
Her shadow.
It had grown darker, impossibly so. It moved without her, stretching and writhing as if alive, twisting and curling in ways her body did not. Maybe it was her imagination, but it almost seemed… elated.
All other shadows in the vicinity -belonging to the living and the inanimate alike- froze. Their angles snapped rigid, their outlines unnaturally sharp. Each one straightened, elongated, and drew itself taut, as if standing at attention before a general.
And then, in unison, they kneeled.
Between the two forces, emerging from the shadows, a man appeared.
He moved with impossible stillness, silent yet commanding attention. His long, dark hair flowed down his back, so smooth it looked like dark silk. His skin was pale, almost enough to look like bone. Faint, almost invisible scars crisscrossed his form, etched in tortuous patterns, some forming jagged lines, some curling in unnatural spirals. On his chest sprawled a black serpent so lifelike it seemed to breathe, its scales glinting faintly, the head coiled as though poised to strike.
His eyes were the most unnerving yet enchanting of all. Pools of darkness so absolute they devoured the light around him.
And his face… his face could not be described as anything but beautiful. Perfect. Flawless. Art sculpted with a mastery that left her speechless and made her heart flutter for a moment.
The man stared at each side. First at the Valor force, which he dismissed without a second thought. Then his eyes moved to take on her side. First to her Firekeepers, battered and wounded but fortunately still alive. Then to Effie, Kai, and Cassie.
At last, his eyes met hers, and he froze. At his feet, shadows writhed violently.
It was… Sunny. She could scarcely believe it.
She had been waiting for this very moment for so long that she felt as though this were a dream. And yet, he was in front of her. Right here. Right now. And the power he emanated…
Sunny, a Sleeper , had challenged a Third Nightmare and succeeded. Standing before her, she couldn't mistake him for anything but a Saint.
And for some reason… he was wearing nothing. Her eyes went down.