Once again, Nephis found herself in the infinite space between dream and reality. Around her, there was nothing but a vast, black void, illuminated by a myriad of bright stars. Among them, countless threads of silver light intertwined in a pattern both beautiful and inconceivably complex.
But she paid no attention to these details because she hated them. She hated the Spell that had taken her family away. She hated that she had to depend on it.
But right now, there was one thing she hated more.
Herself.
Why? Why couldn't she accept Sunny's decision to stay behind?
Why did she have to act selfishly toward him?
Why does she always ends up pushing him away, when that is the last thing she wants.
Why does she always do the same thing?
But she knows the answers to those questions. She simply never learned how to deal with her emotions.
Since she was a child, the only thing she learned were effective ways to kill people. Ways to avoid being killed. Ironically, she never learned how to protect something of value, something other than her own life.
She believed she was improving. By staying at Cassie's side and watching how she interacted with people, analyzing her, she believed she had improved. Seeing how Effie cared about everyone's well-being through her sense of humor, she believed she understood.
Seeing Kai's kindness, how he always lit up the room when someone felt down.
But in the end, no.
She doesn't learn. This is already the second time she has ended up pushing Sunny away, but now it's worse. Much worse.
"How could he forgive me?" she asked out loud, but her voice vanished into the darkness, filled with sadness, bitterness, and indescribable pain. No one was there to hear her… except the Spell, which chose to remain silent.
She already knows the answer to that question as well.
He won't.
How could he?
She knows that freedom is what Sunny desired most, and now she took it away from him for a selfish reason.
How could she look at him again and tell him what she felt? How could she apologize to him? That's assuming she'll ever see him again…
'No! He… he has to survive, I can't lose him too!'
She has already lost enough loved ones in her life to lose Sunny as well. She doesn't even want to think about that possibility.
Now not only is he no longer free, but he is abandoned in that damned place.
The only positive thing is that he is not alone, but this should not have ended like this.
Anger began to rise through her body as she thought about what else she could have done.
Ask Arthur for help? No, he wouldn't have accepted. He is her complete opposite. He would never have taken away someone's opportunity to choose. Even if what they chose was something negative for themselves.
She also believed she had learned something from Arthur. She had just mentioned it earlier, that she didn't want to achieve her goals by sacrificing her sense of right and wrong. But what did she do afterward? She completely ignored someone's desire and acted against it. And not just anyone.
It was Sunny, someone she… someone she…
She opened her runes before finishing that thought. But her eyes moved involuntarily to her greatest sin.
Slave: [Lost From Light]
She began to feel a drop travel down her cheek and immediately closed her eyes.
Fortunately, at that moment the Spell began to speak.
[The Second Seal is broken.]
[Awakening dormant powers…]
Immediately, she felt something awaken within her own body, a sensation that would bring her one step closer to her goals and to becoming a better being. At least, physically.
Moments later, the Spell finished awakening her new powers.
[Wake up, Nephis!]
And in an instant, the black void filled with bright stars and silver light disappeared.
She opened her gray eyes and found herself in the same academy room where she had fallen asleep for the Winter Solstice.
The capsule began emitting signals and lighting up, and moments later its lid slowly started to open. However, she made no move to get up.
She wanted to return to the Forgotten Shore. She wanted to go back to Sunny.
Unaware of this, a nurse quickly opened the door to her room and approached the capsule with hurried steps.
Not wanting anyone to see her completely naked, Nephis slightly raised her hand, and the nurse stopped.
"Can you bring me a piece of clothing?" she said from inside the capsule.
The nurse immediately replied, "Of course! Welcome back to the real world, Awakened Nephis!" and turned to leave the room to fetch a set of academy clothes.
Nephis could have summoned her armor, but it was broken and covered in blood. Besides, it would remind her of something she didn't want to remember.
Moments later, the same nurse returned with academy clothes, and Nephis changed calmly. Or at least that's how it seemed on the outside. Her mind was racing because she had just seen Sunny's runes while she was waiting.
'A Divine Aspect!? The lineage of a Daemon!? A Divine rank Memory!?'
But what caught her attention the most was his Flaw.
Flaw: [Clear Conscience].
Flaw Description: [You cannot lie.]
She had already suspected it might be something similar, but now, seeing the runes, it was a harder blow than she had believed.
Knowing that Sunny had always been a single question away from losing all his freedom—and that in the end, she was the one responsible—was unforgivable.
Now seeing everything laid bare, she sincerely wondered again if the best option wouldn't have been to simply accept it and let the three of them stay.
Three Divine Aspects. Three talented Sleepers.
Their chances of survival would have increased drastically.
She began imagining how everything could have been, if they had been able to speak their feelings, if they had moved forward into something more. It was an idea she liked.
But at the same time, it was a lie.
And Nephis, Changing Star of the Immortal Flame clan, will not live inside a lie.
If she set her mind to it, she would fix her relationship with Sunny, and she would apologize properly. Because if that is her will, who is going to stop her?
With that final thought, she left her room and, with determined steps, decided to end the distractions of the process and begin working on her goals and on bringing Sunny back.
While doing so, completely unconsciously, she did not realize that she had activated her Aspect and was burning her humanity to avoid thinking about anything else.
***
Approximately twenty minutes after undergoing tests to evaluate her health and answering a few questions about the area she had been in—so it could be added to the government's database—she left the room and headed toward Sunny's room.
In the courtyard, they were holding a celebration for everyone who had just awakened, but she was not in the mood to participate. Nephis knew that the first thing they would ask about was Arthur and Sunny, so she preferred to wait to speak with Cassie and calm her thoughts before saying something wrong.
Eventually, she arrived at Sunny's room, and inside it there was already a blonde-haired girl sitting upright beside the capsule. Her elbows rested lightly on it, her hands covering her delicate face, and her shoulders trembling slowly.
Approaching slowly, Nephis stood beside Cassie and noticed that the lid of the capsule was wet just below where she had been leaning.
Not knowing how to act, she simply placed her hand on Cassie's back and began to gently stroke it. Apparently, it had a positive effect on the blind seer, because she stopped crying at that moment and turned toward her.
"Neph?" she asked in a trembling voice.
"Yes, it's me, Cass," she replied.
In front of them slept a small boy with a slender build, pale skin, and black hair that now reached his shoulders. If his eyes were open, Nephis would see a pair of black pearls that seemed to absorb the darkness—it would be very easy for her to lose herself in them.
Still looking forward and slowly wiping her face with a napkin, Cassie asked,
"Did you use it?"
It didn't take a genius to know what she meant.
Nephis continued looking at Sunny's peaceful sleeping face. "Yes, but I shouldn't have."
"What's done is done," Cassie replied as she finished wiping away her tears.
A timid smile found its way onto her face as she looked at the capsule, but it immediately faded. "You lied about the vision, didn't you?" Nephis asked in a more serious tone.
The blind seer began putting on her blindfold and nodded. "I did."
"Why?" Neph demanded slowly.
"Because the real vision was what ended up happening, and I didn't want it to."
Nephis turned to look at her. "Explain."
Cassie didn't move, but a shiver ran down her body. "What is there to explain, Neph? What do you want me to say!?"
"Why did you lie to us about the vision? Why did you give me Sunny's True Name!?" she finished, raising her voice.
Cassie took a deep breath and turned toward Nephis. "Because I knew that if you all three ended up in that situation, Arthur would sacrifice himself. So I lied when I told you that if you didn't escape, you wouldn't be able to fulfill your goals." She continued, "And I gave you Sunny's True Name hoping you would use it so Arthur could escape with you."
Nephis raised an eyebrow. "But I would never have betrayed Sunny like that."
"Maybe not. But where is Sunny now?"
Her gaze returned to Sunny's sleeping figure, and she fell silent. She couldn't say anything because, in truth, she did end up betraying Sunny, and because of her, he didn't return.
Moments later, Cassie asked, "Will you come with me to Arthur's room?"
She simply made a sound of agreement and moved to hold Cassie's hand, but Cassie stood up gracefully and began walking toward the door with slight difficulty, but basically as if she weren't blind.
Nephis raised her other eyebrow. "Since when can you see?"
She let out a silly laugh and replied, "Don't be silly, Neph, I'm blind!" After that, she laughed louder. Nephis tilted her head and was about to say that she knew she was blind, but Cassie continued, "It's my Awakened ability. It lets me do something similar to 'seeing.'"
Neph let out a small "Oh," and after that, they left the room together.
Halfway there, they crossed paths with a woman with whom they exchanged glances, but both continued on their way. She had short jet-black hair and icy blue eyes. Her flawless skin was soft and white as snow. As she passed by, Neph noticed how the air grew slightly colder. She was definitely a Master.
***
It was the morning of a normal day. Ellie woke up at the usual time and went downstairs to have breakfast with her mother. For the moment, everything followed the routine.
After breakfast, she got ready with her uniform and backpack, told herself a few motivational words to stay awake, and headed toward her school.
Obviously, she was someone very responsible and would never be late. Except for that day. For that reason, she was running through the streets so she wouldn't be late to the first class.
Curiously, along the way she ran into a classmate who was also running late. She was the same height and age as her, but had long, completely dark hair; her eyes were the same color, making her pale skin stand out even more.
She was Rain, a classmate who lives near her house.
The Leywin family had moved a few months ago to a new district, and for that same reason Ellie had to change schools. Now she lives two houses away from Rain's house, and sometimes they spend time together. They even attend the same class!
At first, she didn't like the idea of moving, not just because of changing schools and having to make new friends. The truth is, she didn't have many friends at her old school anyway; they were all idiots! But now at least she has Rain, and they get along quite well.
The main reason she didn't want to move was obviously Arthur…
That house was the only one they had ever lived in, therefore it was the only one Arthur knew. He had already been in the Dream Realm for nearly ten months, and there was no news of him returning soon. From time to time, she goes to the academy to visit him and talk to him.
Ellie really misses talking to her brother. It's not the same at all speaking to him through a capsule when she knows he isn't listening.
Her family has been very sad and changed quite a bit since the previous Winter Solstice.
Her father focused more on his work; now he attends fewer Gates that open, but at the same time he is investigating reports of unexplored zones in the Dream Realm. Her mother is much the same. If before she handled her paperwork and a few others, now it feels like all government documents and news pass through her.
Obviously Ellie shouldn't know any of this, but at the same time that they became more focused on their work, they neglected other aspects more. Before, finding a report about a Dream Realm zone at home was almost impossible. Now it's the opposite.
Eventually, Ellie and Rain arrived at school on time, and class began minutes later.
In the first class of the day, they reviewed human anatomy. This was a class that interested her, so she paid attention. But as the hours passed and more classes went by, boredom began to take over.
The current class was about different types of weapons and how to know how and when to use them. Obviously Ellie already knew all of this, being the daughter of two government Masters and, in addition, Arthur's sister, who had always been obsessed with these things.
She turned her head to the sides and saw that a couple of classmates were not paying attention, so she saw the opportunity to take out her communicator.
Carefully pulling it out so as not to draw attention, she began scrolling through social media.
There wasn't much interesting news. There were still no updates about Nightingale, who were on hiatus.
Ellie kept scrolling while searching for something interesting, and soon she saw it.
A government news article was the most viewed story of the last hour. Entering it and reading the title, the air left her lungs.
The article said: "An unusual number of Awakenings! Dear readers, it is estimated that two hundred and fifty Dreamers have awakened simultaneously! We are receiving reports from our correspondents and will soon inform you more about this event. Meanwhile, representatives of the great Legacy Clans…"
The communicator slipped from her hands, and the noise drew the class's attention.
The teacher raised an eyebrow and asked, "Miss Eleanor? Would you like to tell me what you were doing with your communicator in the middle of class?"
Ellie kept staring at the fixed point where the communicator had fallen until she felt a small tap on her arm. Realizing it, she turned and saw that it was Rain, frowning at her.
That's when she came back to herself, grabbed the fallen communicator, quickly stuffed her things into her backpack, and stood up.
"My apologies for the inconvenience, I'm going to have to leave!" she said, and left the classroom before the teacher could respond.
As she ran toward her house, a smile formed on her face while she thought repeatedly,
'Arthur is back!'
The route that usually took her around fifteen minutes, she completed in less than eight this time.
She arrived home with beads of sweat running down her forehead. Her grayish-brown hair was completely messy, and her appearance in general was quite disheveled—but she didn't care.
Almost kicking the door open, she burst inside, and her mother was sitting on the couch watching a movie on the projector.
At the noise, she jumped from the couch and went on guard, but when she saw Ellie, she calmed down—until she noticed the state she was in and moved toward her, thinking something had happened.
Then she saw the smile on her daughter's face and ended up completely confused.
"Ellie? What happened!?"
She simply shook her head and said, "Did you see the news!? A bunch of Sleepers just awakened!" She finished the last part almost jumping with excitement.
Alice's eyes widened, and a quick tear threatened to escape. Immediately she grabbed the PTV keys, and without saying a word, both ended up on their way to the Academy. On the way, Ellie called her father, and they agreed to meet at the academy gates.
Less than half an hour later, they were stepping out of the PTV at the academy entrance.
There they met Reynolds, who had just arrived, and Jet as well. The latter joined them because the government had sent her to create a report about the situation. Jet also had the personal intention of visiting Sunny to see if he was among those who had returned.
After meeting up, the four entered the academy, and the first thing they noticed was the number of Awakened in the courtyard in something like a party. Seeing this, they all grew excited at the possibility that their Arthur was among that crowd.
Taking advantage of the privilege of working for the government, they headed to the reception and spoke with the woman at the desk. After receiving confirmation that, indeed, many Sleepers were awakening, she gave them permission to go to the room where Arthur's capsule was, since for the moment they had no data about him.
Eternal minutes later, they found themselves in front of the room. There, Jet informed them she would give them privacy and left to look for another room.
The three entered, and to their sadness, there was no change in the room. They stepped in slowly with hesitant steps and stood around the capsule.
Inside it was a boy taller than average, with a defined physique. His pale blond hair had grown quite a bit since the last time they saw him, and he currently wore a calm expression on his well-defined face.
The three stood around the capsule without uttering a word. Every passing second felt like a stab to the heart. Every breath Arthur took provoked a feeling of joy and fear… fear that he wouldn't wake up, fear that their hope would be crushed at any moment.
Moments of silence passed until faint voices were heard in the hallway, accompanied by light, unhurried steps. Seconds later, the door handle turned, and the door slowly began to open.
At the unexpected sound, the three turned toward the door, and when it finished opening, they saw two figures standing in academy uniforms.
The first was short, with a blindfold over her delicate face, accompanied by blonde hair cascading down her back like a waterfall of gold. They knew her, it was Cassie. Arthur's friend and their neighbor until recently, before they moved.
The second was a tall girl with a slender physique and intense gray eyes that perfectly matched her shoulder-length hair of the same color. Her skin was alabaster and complemented her pale features. They did not know who she was.
It was Ellie who broke the silence. "Cassie?" she asked, frowning.
She bent slightly and responded with a smile, "Hi Ellie, yes, it's me."
Ellie ran toward her and hugged her; for a mundane girl, Cassie had to admit it was quite strong. "I missed you," she said while hugging her.
While Cassie and Ellie embraced, Nephis didn't know what to do. She was about to speak, but Alice beat her to it. "And this lovely lady, who might she be?"
Neph responded immediately in a robotic tone, "Hello, I am Nephis of the Immortal Flame Clan." She continued, "It's a pleasure to meet you."
Reynolds raised an eyebrow at the mention of the clan but quickly hid it.
"Immortal Flame? The pleasure is ours then," he continued. "It's a shame what happened to your clan, my condolences." Alice quickly said the same.
Nephis only smiled faintly. "Thank you."
At that moment, Cassie and Ellie separated, and the latter approached Nephis. After analyzing her for a few uncomfortable moments, she said, "You're pretty."
She only managed to murmur a thank you while avoiding blushing and made a subtle gesture with her eye toward Cassie to say something. Sadly, she forgot that the poor girl was blind and obviously didn't notice the gesture.
Seeing this and saving the awkward moment, Alice asked with a slight laugh, "I understand why Cassie is here, but what brings you here, Lady Nephis?"
She took a breath and answered, "We came to see Arthur."
"Were you in the same zone as him?" Reynolds asked.
Cassie nodded and added a small smile afterward. "Yes, we were together."
Then Ellie asked the question the three of them had.
"When is my brother going to wake up?"
"In relation to that…" Cassie said, taking a deep breath before continuing, "We were in the same zone, yes, and we tried to escape together, but…" Her body trembled slightly. "Maybe Nephis can explain it better!"
'I'm sorry, Neph!' the blind seer thought.
The gazes of Reynolds, Alice, and Ellie focused on Nephis, and she, surprised by the sudden shift, took a few seconds before continuing.
"What happened is that, at the very end, only three of us remained before the Gateway—Arthur, Sunny, and me. The Gateway had a different mechanism that required a vessel to function, so Arthur… he stayed behind and sent me through the Gateway while I was unconscious."
Ellie took a step back and looked at her with a horrified expression. "No! No, no, you're lying!"
"I… I—" Neph tried to intervene.
Ellie interrupted her while continuing to step back, but now her expression was one of complete sadness, with tears forming in her brown eyes. "No! No, no, no! Arthur… my brother has to come back!" She turned to look at the capsule just as the first tears fell.
Alice and Reynolds remained frozen in place, but then they turned and both embraced Ellie while she kept denying it out loud.
Behind Cassie's blue blindfold, two darker stains were becoming visible where her eyes were. And Nephis stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do. Eventually, the two turned around, and as they left the room, both said something in a low voice.
They both said, "Sorry," but for completely different reasons.
While Arthur breathed calmly inside his capsule, oblivious to everything, his family's world had just collapsed.