Shadow Slave

In the morning, the island shook again. Sunny opened his eyes and reached through the shadow sense, checking in on Saint. Since the taciturn knight was standing calmly above the fissure, he relaxed and yawned with great satisfaction.

He felt incredibly refreshed.

The dark island was in one piece, and nothing was pouncing to kill them. Life was great.

He sat up, leaned on the slope of the fissure, then rubbed his eyes and looked around. Nephis was already up, doing light stretches a few meters away. Sunny watched her for a few moments, then forced himself to avert his gaze.

The sound of her even, yet fragile voice resounding from the darkness still echoed in his ears.

Neph's Second Nightmare... was different from his own, just like her First Nightmare had been. She had not battled immortal Saints to free an imprisoned daemon from divine chains. Instead, she had tried to save a small group of pitiful and forlorn creatures, only to watch them all die.

Nephis had been the last one standing on the Forgotten Shore, and after traveling alone through the purgatory of the Nightmare Desert, she built a tiny community amidst the cold darkness, only to watch it be destroyed.

She had been so strong, but the Nightmare made her weak. She had been so proud, but the Nightmare made her beg for mercy on her knees. He wasn't sure he could imagine how painful it was for her, to sacrifice the two things that were at the core of her sense of self.

Yes, Neph had not slain impossibly powerful enemies with her radiant sword in the Nightmare... but, for her, wielding a sword against an overwhelming foe was not something to be feared.

Maybe that was why the Spell always tried to break her in some other, more cruel way.

Sunny looked down at the weathered surface of the black rock.

'The Spell... I wonder...'

How had the Spell appraised Neph's performance in the Second Nightmare?

Sunny was not sure, but he had an inkling that the appraisal was exceedingly high. If his theory was right, that was, and the appraisal depended on how much the challenger had changed the flow of fate. In that regard...

He suspected that what Nephis had done was miraculous. She had wanted to change the fates of the forsaken creatures living in the darkness at the bottom of the Underwold.

that task, she

she had succeeded

the harrowing creature that had come

the creature been compelled by her words? By her

of the forsaken? Had the creature of darkness been poisoned by a hint of an indescribable longing? Had it learned to long for

powerful enough to be a horror in the Underworld had been changed, even ever so slightly, then Sunny could not really imagine

Spell could have

that was

way. The Spell and its carriers had different criteria for success, after all. The Spell might be satisfied with Neph's performance,

stare at the

than before. But her resolve to kill the Sovereigns and destroy the Spell also seemed

many things about her past words

am I

was oblivious to his thoughts,

thing he had

Neph's

are a creature of light that was banished and doomed to exist in the darkness. You bring radiance and warmth

the Spell had presented her with

as a result was

Longing, yearning, desire... wish...

like fire in Neph's heart so powerful that it

it in a new light. It had seemed like a

However...

that Ability made Nephis immune to the Corruption, then wasn't it actually

sever their arm when it got infected with the Corruption. Not only was the great and terrible Demon of Fate not immune to Corruption, he or she was even powerless in front

was Nephis,

importantly, what

exercises, pulled the fastened strap of her white tunic back to her

Nephis smiled.