Nephis looked in the window and remained silent for a while. Her face was distant and still. After a while, she lightly shook her head.
"No… not yet."
Cassie seemed to be surprised by that answer.
"No? But… why?"
Changing Star sighed.
"The… Fire Keepers. That is what people call the Awakened who follow you, right? They all look up to me, do they not?"
The blind girl silently nodded.
"Of course! We… they have been waiting for your return ever since escaping the Forgotten Shore. Even though the Dreamer Army was an alliance of convenience, the bonds that were forged between its members are real. Their bond to you is real, too."
Sunny sipped his coffee with a strange expression. Neph, meanwhile, lingered for a moment, and then said:
"But they want more than just to welcome me back. They expect me to lead them, like I did on the Forgotten Shore. Am I correct?"
Cassie nodded once again.
Neph looked away.
"How can I lead them when I don't know where I am going? I… I need more time to figure things out before I face them."
The blind girl remained silent for a while, then sighed.
"I… I understand. I think."
did
sense. She was not sure of what she was going to do, so she could not offer the remnants of the Dreamer Army guidance. She could not become their general again until she
to allow her hesitation to slow her down. More than that, she had spent two whole years alone in the Dream Realm… if he knew anything about her,
information that became available to Neph after she came back. That had to change her approach a little, but should not have affected the core of it.
was she struggling
did not know, and was not sure that he wanted to know… yet. In any case, he was going
something else
at Nephis and Cassie and then said, his
two forgetting something? This is still my home! We only agreed that Nephis would stay here for a week. Shouldn't you at least ask me
was not going to let Changing Star pull off an Effie
and looked at him with an unreadable expression. After a
do you mind if I
coughed, and then glanced away in
problem. Glad to have you, and all that. See, was that so
***
renovations they were making to the Immortal Flame manor, and then left.
were left
a few moments, and
I never really had one, more or less, before buying this house. But if I did, I imagine I
him, then slowly shook her
financial situation changed,
a few moments,
feeling of home. But they are all gone now,
sighed, remembering the conversation he once had
Immortal Flame clan is, to be honest. And who those people were.
Changing Star nodded.
You could have called it a great clan, even, although that distinction was not established yet back then. Apart from the immediate family, the clan also encompassed hundreds of other people. Professionals to manage our properties, craftsmen,
grew silent, and then
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
The Novel will be updated daily. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!