Shadow Slave

Some time later, the six of the left the secluded ruin and made their way toward the Bright Castle. The Dark City was silent and bleak, its streets devoid of life and movement. Even the Nightmare Creatures seemed to remain hidden in the lairs today, as though the feeling the tension that hung in the air like a harbinger of a disastrous change.

A lonely star was about to ignite in the sky above the cursed city.

Nephis was the first one to walk under the marble arch and step on the road that led to the outer settlement. Her face was calm and motionless, any hint of emotion hidden behind her usual mask of indifference. It was as though she was returning home in triumph, not marching to her own execution.

There was a slightly distant look in her eyes.

Sunny abandoned his usual position at the back of the group and was now walking side by side with her. Maybe it was just a whim, but he felt unwilling to follow in her footsteps as he had always done before, from the first day they met.

As they ascended the tall hill, Changing Star suddenly asked:

"Sunny, do you remember your First Nightmare well?"

Her voice sounded relaxed and idle.

He cast a sideways glance at her and hesitated for a few moments. Then, he answered in an even tone:

"Like it was yesterday."

She smiled slightly.

"Was it hard?"

Slowly, a grin appeared on his face.

"Hard? No, not hard. Impossible. It was a ghastly, despicable, and torturous ordeal. Truly the stuff of nightmares. Calling it hard would be an injustice."

a dismissive shrug, Sunny drove the memories of the black mountain away and

"...What about yours?"

away, remembering. After a

that bad,

stared at

only had to kill a measly thousand Unholy Titans with your bare hands, or something like that? Knowing you, "not that bad" means

slowly shook her

have to fight anyone, really. Up until

Sunny blinked.

"Wait, seriously?"

smile appeared on her

the horizon, bathing the endless expanse of azure waves in beautiful light. The winds were gentle and the world was kind. It was me, my parents, and my younger

He frowned.

what? A sea serpent destroyed the lighthouse? Some rotten horror rose from

became distant. A few moments passed

of it, I think. My Nightmare... it was actually a paradise. It was everything I

hint of sorrow disappeared from Neph's face, replaced by a subtly

was what made it so hard to overcome. Impossible, even. Just like you said. Because all I had to do to conquer the Nightmare... all I had to do was to walk away and leave it all behind. Knowing

for a while, then asked

did you

heavy sigh escaped from Neph's lips.

time. But no matter how hard I looked, there wasn't any. Day after day, night after night… as time went by, it became harder and harder to force myself to continue searching. I grew accustomed to that bliss, that warm and

her head slightly and said, her tantalizing

blessings of the fire. That was

eyes reflecting the terrible agony