Shadow Slave

As it turned out, Nephis had not found a Gateway to escape the Dream Realm and Awaken.

Instead, after two long years of solitude and relentless battles for survival, she had found a Seed of Nightmare and conquered the Second Trial of the Spell as a Sleeper.

She had done it alone.

At least that was the only way Sunny could explain the runes he was staring at.

Ascended.

'That is impossible.'

Surviving the Second Nightmare was already not easy for a cohort of prepared Awakened. More people perished while trying than returned victorious. How could a lone Sleeper accomplish the same?

No one had done it before.

However… no Sleeper had been a Tyrant before.

No Sleeper had escaped alive from a battle with a Corrupted horror of the depths before.

No Sleeper had slain a Fallen Terror before.

Nephis had long established her penchant for accomplishing the impossible. Why was Sunny so surprised that she had done it again?

No, he wasn't surprised. He was… dismayed.

A deep, unsettling emotion nestled in his chest, making his face grow dark and his eyes grow dim. The shadows around him seemed to become deeper.

doesn't change anything. The important part is that she is back. Who cares how

than Nephis was not born out of simple vanity or empty pride. Someone else might have been tempted to chase power just for the sweetness of it, but to Sunny, being anything

She was not shy about using her prodigious strength, so people did

the person to send Nephis into the Dream Realm. It was no wonder that he dropped everything to come and wait with the rest

and froze for a moment, then asked

Is it

her for a bit, then simply

the healers with my

split her face. It looked as

had a doubt! No Nightmare

couldn't help but smile a little, infected by her

would have caused a stir, but right now, no one paid the former idol

an expression of profound relief appeared on the young man's beautiful face. Kai

"Gods… thank the gods…"

but his friend must have been blaming himself for leaving Nephis behind all that time. He was truly too decent of a person for this vile world, and infected by a misguided sense of nobility to boot. Knowing that he had escaped the hell of the

of them huddled together and waited. Sunny silently observed the faces of his friends, seeing sincere happiness and relief written all over them.

feel a strange ambivalence about Changing

Sunny decided to ignore the darker part of his

to die to avoid becoming a slave, he would. If he had to kill in order to remain free… that was not out of the question, as

chose to just share

cohort

one of the Awakened healers in the

Even Morgan of Valor looked up from her communicator, strange sparks igniting

the government agents couldn't

Lady Changing Star