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...

and saw two weathered skeletons cruelly nailed to its white bark. Both stared at her with empty

some time, one of

Am I that pleasant to

grated its teeth and let out a creaky growl, then strained, trying to wrestle free of the

skeletons with a calm expression, no emotion reflecting in her

skeleton spoke

I smell? Gods! What terrible sins have you committed, girl, to be cast into this hell alive? Even for a revolting nephilim like you, this

her mouth and said hoarsely, in a voice of a person

language do

The skeleton laughed.

this place, of course.

silent for a long time,

to the waking world. Do you know how to escape

skeleton stared at her

world? What is

spoke, his voice

smell the stench of a daemon on this abominable thing? She is one of

skull

that so? My, oh my. In that case, you will not find guides better than the two of us. Just take us off this damned tree,

for a while, then

don't need two guides. Which one should I

skeleton strained to free himself again, and then

the Plague of Steel, King of Kings, conqueror of a hundred thrones! Choose me, nephilim! I will guide you to the shores of the Underworld and through

a glance, then said to

"...What about you?"

skeleton answered in

am no one.

lingered for a

two of you… nailed to this

skeleton who had called

creature?! I am here because I led my armies into

gaze to the