Shadow Slave

After drinking her fill, Nephis sat silently on the edge of the pool for a while, staring into the distance.

Her eyes, however, were moving, as if reading an invisible book that floated in the air above the calm waters.

Some time later, a pale shadow of a smile touched her lips.

'That guy… he did something crazy again, didn't he?'

She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.

'How is he so fast…'

In the past months… years, lifetimes?... spent traversing the Dream Realm, surrounded by nothing except for pain and bloodshed, Nephis had started doubting the memories of her previous life. Sometimes, all of it seemed like something that she had simply imagined… a bittersweet dream she had invented to escape from the horrors of the real world. This world.

The world of neverending nightmares.

The change of the runes describing Sunny was the only connection she had left to the actual reality. Perhaps, it was the only thing keeping her sane.

...Even if the things she saw in the shimmering runes were sometimes hard to believe.

The impossible Lineage that should not have existed, the divine Memory of the seventh Rank, the strange essence of his soul, the true nature of the taciturn stone demon… and of course, of his Flaw.

It seemed that Sunny had much more secrets than Nephis had suspected. With that knowledge, many things made much more sense now… but at the same time, many others seemed much more incredible.

Well, it was not like she didn't have secrets of her own.

And anyway, it was all in the past.

Everything was in the past.

All that remained was the future.

...She did hope that he was doing well, though, out there in the real world. With Cassie...

from the water, Nephis shifted her gaze to the ancient tree and saw two weathered skeletons cruelly nailed to its white bark. Both stared at her with empty eyes, their teeth bared in eternal

some time, one of the skeletons

I that pleasant

strained, trying to wrestle free of the large silver nails impaling it to the tree. However, no matter how

calm expression, no emotion reflecting in her cold,

first skeleton spoke

terrible sins have you committed, girl, to be cast into this hell alive? Even for a revolting

opened her mouth and said hoarsely, in a voice of

do

The skeleton laughed.

place, of course. Why?

a

way back to the waking world.

skeleton stared at her with

world? What

spoke, his voice deep

of a daemon on this abominable thing? She is one of Weaver's, you

first skeleton turned its skull a

better than the two of us. Just take us off this damned tree, and we will

stared at them for a while,

don't need two guides. Which one should

strained to free

a hundred thrones! Choose me, nephilim! I will guide you to the shores of the Underworld

then said

"...What about you?"

answered in an

I am no one. Just

for a bit. Finally, she

of you… nailed to

had called himself

abominable creature?! I am here because I led my armies into the great war, slaughtered a myriad of souls, and was punished

shifted her gaze to