Shadow Slave

After it became apparent that Nephis was not going to go on a destructive rampage, the cohort did not get a lot of time to spend with their friend before the government agents whisked her away.

Cassie barely managed to squeeze her hand, while Effie and Kai could only express their joy with words. Sunny remained silent, still preoccupied with his tumultuous thoughts. The corner he was standing in became even darker than it had been before.

Neph herself seemed a bit disoriented, so their short reunion had turned out to be somewhat muddled.

There were certain procedures involved when a person Awakened, and even more once they Ascended. All kinds of interviews, evaluations, and tests had to take place. All kinds of reports had to be submitted, all types of permissions had to be granted, and all varieties of procedures had to be enacted.

The bureaucratic machine stirred awake to legitimize and integrate a new Master into the larger framework of humanity.

Sunny knew the process well, because he had gone through it himself. It was just that his own experience had been separated into two distinct instances, and made smoother by Master Jet's participation.

Nephis, on the other hand, had to go through both sets of procedures at once, which was more or less unprecedented. She also did not enjoy the patronage of a high-ranking government representative… yet. Perhaps that would not last long.

There were other complications, as well. Her situation was unique and abnormal in more than one sense. Just the fact that she had become a Master without establishing a Gateway anchor in the Dream Realm alone was enough to make the bureaucracy stutter.

The government agents had their work cut out for them.

…It was not all bad, however. The process, while slightly obnoxious, was there for a reason. It was not only about gathering the necessary information and officially establishing the Ascended's new and elevated status. It was also designed to help the returned deal with the most damaging effects of suddenly coming back to safety after experiencing untold horrors in the Nightmare, at least to a certain degree.

No matter how strong Changing Star was, no one doubted that her harrowing adventure through the Dreaml Realm and the Nightmare had left its scars on her mind. The government was well aware of how fragile many powerful Awakened truly were. It was not only on guard against those who could break, but also experienced in employing all kinds of preventative measures to reduce the possibility of that happening.

Due to how important Nephis was both to the propaganda machine and to the actual defensive efforts of humanity as another Special Strategic Asset, the government threw its best resources into ensuring that the initial steps of her rehabilitation went as smoothly as possible.

Of course, she was free to decide how much exactly she was willing to share. Some basic tests, however, were mandatory, since it was necessary to determine how safe it was to release her into the population.

hours before the

weren't the only ones waiting,

Fire Keepers of the incredible new development. Soon enough, dozens

time for all of them to gather in the hallway near where Nephis was undergoing her interviews. Now, around fifty young

the Dream Realm, the Fire Keepers looked rough around the edges, if not a little feral. They were wearing civilian clothes, but no one would mistake these people for mundane

anyone who approached feel ill at ease. That was especially true for the members

seemed so fierce that even

though. Awakened or not, they seemed to understand that they stood no chance against the elites of the

help but ask himself

of the Ivory Tower had such a drastic effect on the Fire Keepers, then what had two years of traversing

quietly approached Cassie

"How is it going?"

her head

"What do you mean?"

Sunny smiled darkly.

not use your Ability on one of the government agents handling Neph's processing. So what is

hesitated for a few

to be in shock, somewhat. But mostly, she's…

He frowned.

You know

slowly shook her

human too, Sunny. It's just easy to forget that fact sometimes because of… well,

silent, not knowing what to say. After