Nephis woke up in her pod after spending the last few hours in the Chained Isles. She calmly got up from it and dressed in an outfit she always left next to her capsule.
Stretching slightly – more out of habit than anything else – she left the room and walked through the empty hallways of the mansion. They weren't actually empty; every now and then she crossed paths with a Fire Keeper, but it was a more material emptiness. Those walls, years ago, were full of artworks and trophies; today, they are completely devoid of decoration.
Ignoring the lump in her throat, she headed towards her personal quarters.
Minutes later, she entered and found Cassie and Effie already waiting for her. One sitting on her bed and the other in her wheelchair.
Effie spoke first. "Well, princess." She continued, "We prepared three different outfits for you, and you're going to have to try them all on!"
Before she could object, Cassie spoke,
"And don't even think about refusing!"
Neph let out a soft sigh, pretending to be annoyed, but a small curve on her lips betrayed her. And Effie noticed.
"That's the spirit, princess. You have to dress well to find yourself a worthy gentleman!"
She tilted her head,
"Gentleman?"
"She means a boyfriend, Neph," Cassie said, clear disappointment on her delicate face.
She blushed a little, "What? I don't need a boyfriend."
"Yeah, sure," the huntress replied with a smile, then grabbed one of the outfits and handed it to her. "Come on, start trying them on!"
Nephis took the set and entered her bathroom. Moments later, she came out, and both women raised their eyebrows upon seeing her.
She was wearing a dress that was a soft, pale pink tone, with a delicate and elegant design. The bodice fit her figure with fine pleats that met at the center, where a large bow stood out. Leaving her slender and strong arms fully visible.
From the waist, the skirt opened into several layers of slightly adorned fabric, falling in tiers that gave it a fluid appearance. The layers showed softly, giving the ensemble a sense of lightness and grace. The skirt ended mid-thigh, showing her long legs. Accompanied by heels of the same color.
Around her neck was a silver necklace with a flame detail in the center. Her hairstyle consisted of her gray hair falling freely down her back.
In short, Nephis was beautiful.
The three women fell completely silent until Cassie looked to the side and said, "You look very pretty, Neph."
Effie, for her part, was more direct,
"If Doofus ever saw you like this, I'm sure his heart would have stopped!"
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and added, "Do you really think so?"
The huntress nodded, "Definitely."
"Still, I feel very uncomfortable with this, I'm showing too much skin," she added. "Plus, I have little mobility."
Both women made disapproving noises, and Nephis grabbed the second outfit.
Moments later, she came out of the bathroom wearing a long dress of deep ivory white, elegant and striking without being excessive. The bodice fit her figure perfectly, with a soft fabric that outlined her silhouette and a subtle neckline that revealed her collarbones and the firm line of her shoulders.
From the waist, the skirt fell in a single piece of fabric that slid to the floor with an impeccable drape. A side slit ran up the skirt to the thigh, revealing part of her long legs. The fabric reflected the light with every movement, giving it a soft glow under the lights. On her feet were silver heels with thin straps that matched the elegance of the dress.
Around her neck rested a delicate necklace of small diamonds that captured the light every time she moved. Her gray hair was tied up in an elegant low bun, leaving a few loose strands around her face that softened her features and framed her gaze.
Upon leaving the room, Neph moved slightly and added, "With this one, I have less mobility but I don't show as much skin." Then she asked, "What do you think?"
Cassie swallowed and replied, "You look very pretty, Neph."
Effie simply nodded, as her throat felt a little dry.
Neph took that as a sign to grab the third outfit.
Minutes later, she was wearing a much more casual but equally elegant ensemble. She wore dark fitted pants that accentuated the line of her legs and hips, accompanied by a simple white t-shirt of soft fabric that settled naturally on her figure. Over it, a long coat fell over her shoulders, giving the outfit a sober and refined air.
On her feet were long leather boots that reached just below the knee, firm and elegant, echoing the dark tone of the rest of her clothes.
Her gray hair was tied back in a simple ponytail, although some loose strands fell over her forehead, moving slightly when she turned her face. Around her neck rested an elegant necklace of fine design that subtly stood out against the t-shirt, while several delicate rings adorned her fingers, gleaming faintly whenever she moved her hands.
Seeing herself in the mirror, she smiled and said to herself, "This is the right one."
The other two women wanted nothing more to do with it. They ended up losing at their own game.
***
At that moment, the Cohort was walking down the red carpet. Camera flashes illuminated their faces while reporters tried to ask them multiple questions.
The questions were about all sorts of things from the movie, but the topic that was repeated the most was about the relationship between Arthur and Nephis.
She didn't know why they asked her this question; in fact, looking at the rest of the Cohort, she noticed that everyone had confused expressions when that topic was mentioned. If she had to answer, she would have said he was simply a colleague at that time.
They knew each other for too short a time to be friends, so they were simply colleagues.
Arriving at their seats, she sat next to the Director – who insisted she do so –, Cassie was to her left, followed by Effie and finally Kai at the end. On the other side of the Director sat the actress who played her.
Neph has to say that the actress resembles her quite a bit; if she were to judge more precisely, she would say she just lacks a bit of muscle.
Then there was a... child? Neph leaned forward and raised an eyebrow, observing.
'Who does he play?' she wondered.
Effie from the other side said, "We know he looks like Doofus, but you're going to end up scaring him, Neph!"
"He doesn't look anything like Sunny," she replied while sitting back upright.
Effie was going to respond, but at that moment, the cinema lights went out completely.
The screen began to light up with different colors and started traveling through the sky of NSQC. Eventually, it stopped at the Mansion of the Immortal Flame Clan, racing through the hallways at high speed, it arrived at a room with the door slightly ajar. Outside was a little girl with silver-colored hair, and with her tiny hand, she was slowly opening the door.
That was supposed to be her? Her hair was black as a child, for spell's sake! And her father, as absent as he may have been, would never have left a sword within her reach!
Inside the room, there was a handsome, tall man with black hair looking at a map. Moments later, this man moved his head and focused on the tiny creature that had entered the room; doing so, he smiled and at the same time moved a broken sword out of her reach. Kneeling down to her height, he said:
"That is not a toy, Nephis."
Her head tilted. "But Daddy, why is your sword broken?"
"So what if it's broken?" He smiled. "It's still sharp."
He put a hand on his daughter's shoulder and gave her a serious expression. "One day you will wield a sword too, darling. When you do, remember one thing: we, the Awakened, only raise arms to protect humanity. As long as we don't give up, no matter how dire the situation is, there will be hope. Just like this sword, humanity is more resilient than it seems!"
She was already getting annoyed, and the movie had just started! Did they really have to resort to the most cliché speech possible? Simultaneously, she heard the faint laughter of her companions. The traitors.
The camera left the Immortal Flame Clan mansion and raced through the skies again at high speed. Eventually stopping at an ordinary house. Inside the house, a family was quietly having dinner. In the room, there was a man with ash-brown hair and deep blue eyes, with strong, fierce eyebrows, accompanied by a woman with distinctive reddish-brown hair and brown eyes, both with three stars on their uniform, clearly marking that they were Masters and worked for the government.
On the other side of the table were two children, one of them a girl with grayish-brown hair and brown eyes. Accompanied by a boy three years older than her, who had reddish-brown hair and deep blue eyes.
The four were quietly having dinner until the boy asked: "Daddy, why do you work so much?"
The man stopped eating and smiled slightly: "Dear Arthur, that is our duty as Awakened! As long as we keep working and striving, we will never stop growing strong to face the Spell together!"
The boy looked at him with a smile and the camera left the house again, moving to another scene.
Well, at least I won't be the only one suffering, Neph told herself as consolation.
"Damn, Arthur was so cute as a kid!" Effie said.
Cassie, for her part, had a slight smile on her delicate face.
The screen split and motivational music began to play. On one side of the screen, scenes started showing Nephis growing and improving, while on the other, they showed the same thing about Arthur. The scenes showed them from childhood until just before their First Nightmares.
The movie is centered between Arthur and me? Looking towards Cassie, Neph asked her,
"What is the name of the movie?"
"Seriously, you don't know, Neph?" said the blind seer.
"No?"
Cassie turned and with a trembling voice replied, "A Song of the King and His Flame."
At that moment, Nephis felt a bad premonition.
Nephis, now a beautiful woman with prominent curves and intense gray eyes, stood before the Academy gate, her gaze fixed as she observed the scene serenely. Beside her, a skinny young man, with black hair and eyes of the same color, looked at the Academy with eyes full of hope.
That's Sunny? Why did they choose a 13-year-old boy to represent him!?
Moments later, there was a small montage of Nephis training, followed by her exhibition in the Sparrings. Whenever she won, she would end up dedicating words of motivation to her fellow Sleepers. Words like "Never give up!" or "Remember our goals!" Then her winning streak ended when a green-eyed Legacy, handsome and strong, beat her in combat by a hair. It was Caster.
"I'm not that intense," she said out loud.
Cassie and Effie replied simultaneously, "Yes, you are."
Kai, more timidly, added, "There are situations where you are, Lady Nephis."
Her right eye began to twitch.
In a police station room, a young man with reddish-brown hair was sleeping peacefully while challenging his First Nightmare. Around him, his whole family was waiting for his return, and suddenly Arthur's hair color began to change, turning a pale blonde. Seconds later, his eyes opened and focused with a golden hue, instead of the previous deep blue.
After a scene where his family showed their concerns for him. Arthur just says: "You didn't have to worry, a miserable First Nightmare could never defeat me!."
He continued with the next phrase: "I even returned bearing a True Name! Yes! I, Paragon of Purity, from this moment onward will protect my fellow Awakened, and together we will defeat the Spell!"
Effie burst out laughing and said between laughs, "Oh Gods! They did Arthur dirty!"
Everyone started laughing, even Nephis, and even her eye stopped twitching.
Arthur is seen calmly entering the academy with headphones on, his golden eyes scanning all the present Sleepers and his pale blonde hair moving slightly. Upon entering the reception, the gaze of everyone present turns towards him, and the women present start blushing upon seeing him. Some even fainted.
Really, they had to go for that angle? Nephis can admit without shame that Arthur is on Kai's level, and maybe even superior. But girls fainting? Please…
Arthur says: "Don't worry, fellow Awakened. I, Paragon of Purity, am here to survive the Spell, together we will achieve it!"
Then there's a montage of Arthur sweeping the floor with all the Sleepers while saying motivational phrases. Then Caster arrives, and the fight is intense, and eventually Arthur defeats him. With Caster on the ground, he kneels and extends his hand saying, "You did very well, comrade! Warriors like you are the ones we need!"
Her right eye started twitching again.
Moments later, Nephis is seen approaching the ring, and they both smile at each other. They wish each other good luck, and the combat begins. The fight scene is intense and lengthy but ends with both falling out of the ring, a clear tie between them.
Arthur stands up before her and extends his hand. Nephis, still on the ground, gently takes it and stands up. At that moment, Arthur brings her hand closer and gives it a brief kiss on the back, like a gentleman.
They both look at each other slightly blushing and say good fight.
Her eye twitched harder.
'No! They didn't! Please, tell me they didn't... they didn't pair me up with Arthur!'
Nephis's gray eyes were completely wide open, and her lips were slightly parted in shock.
At that moment, she turned to look at her companions, and then, Cassie turned painfully slowly towards her with one eyebrow completely raised. She was almost afraid the eyebrow would fly off her forehead.
The screen splits again, showing Nephis alongside Cassie and Sunny traveling through the Labyrinth. And on the other half, Arthur and Sylvie are shown doing the same. During the montage, it can be seen how both groups several times are meters away from meeting, but in the end, they always end up going in different directions.
What? We were that close and never met?
'I'll have to ask Sylvie later.'
The Cohort is shown joining forces with Effie and then with Caster. Also, a montage of all the events that happened in the Dark City, ending with a discussion between Sunny and Nephis, but eventually they resolve their differences, and everyone leaves the city in search of something that would help them defeat Gunlaug.
"They killed off my character," Effie said.
Nephis laughed and said playfully, "The portrayal is quite realistic."
Effie brought her hand to her chest as if showing shock, "Did Princess just make a joke!?"
Kai from a distance smiled,
"Yes, she did."
The scene shows the moment the Cohort says goodbye to the Dark City, and just at that moment, Arthur and Sylvie arrive at the Dark City. Not finding each other by a hair's breadth again.
'Well, at least that part is true.'
Next, Arthur's arrival at the outer settlement is shown, and all the women present blush upon seeing him. He gives a motivational speech, and after a big montage showing Arthur motivating these Sleepers, he subsequently decides to enter the castle to defeat Gunlaug.
Before the fight, Arthur stood before the Bright Lord and said, "This is where your reign ends, old tyrant, from this day on. I, Paragon of Purity, will take care of purifying your soul, surrendered to the Spell!"
'Why do they repeat his True Name so much?'
The fight was intense, with both sacrificing things, but eventually culminated with Arthur defeating the old tyrant.
He sits on the throne, and everyone present kneels before him.
"I told you! From this day forward, we Awakened will live as we always should have! Fighting together to defeat the Spell!"
Everyone present started applauding while slowly standing up.
Even in the cinema, most women started applauding simultaneously, not to mention the number of things Neph has already heard his fans shout at Arthur.
There are some she doesn't understand, like: "Eat me whole!" As far as Neph knows, Arthur isn't a cannibal.
There are also many shouting for him to give them a child. Neph doesn't understand why someone would want to have a child with someone they don't know?
Months later, the Cohort is shown returning from the Labyrinth and they are greeted with applause and bows. Eventually, before reaching the castle, they see a figure sitting calmly on the steps. The figure was Arthur.
Upon seeing them, he smiled and spoke,
"It's a pleasure to see you returned safe and sound. Especially you, Lady Nephis."
She blushed slightly and said, "It's a pleasure to see you again, Lord Arthur," while playing with her eyelashes.
Loud cheers erupted in the theater as the audience watched the scene. Some of them shouted, "Ohhh, they look great together!!"
"That's a powerful couple!!"
"How cute their children would be!!"
He got up from the steps and added with a smile,
"Come on, what are you waiting for? I'll show you where your quarters will be."
Her right eye started twitching again. Hard.
The entire Cohort was having a sparring session, but only Arthur and Nephis were left fighting each other, while the rest went off to do other things. The sparring between them was strong, fast, and of high quality. Nephis moved unpredictably, while Arthur responded thanks to his reflexes, and they remained evenly matched.
After an exchange that Arthur won, they show how Nephis ends up slipping, and just before she hits the ground, Arthur catches her from behind with one arm, and their faces are inches apart.
Her armrest was almost broken.
Their faces started to blush, and after seconds of staring intensely into each other's eyes, Arthur began to close the distance. Nephis gently closed her eyes and surrendered to the kiss.
Her armrest broke.
But moments before their lips could make contact, a figure enters where they were sparring, and they abruptly separate. The figure was Caster.
She let out a breath that was completely drowned out by a chorus of "FUCK CASTER!" that erupted in the theater. Then the audience burst into cheers, saying they look so good together. Although she didn't show it, she was deeply embarrassed. Had they forgotten that she was also in the theater?
The scene shows the entire Siege, Effie is seen drowning in a tide of Nightmare Creatures. Kai and Sylvie fighting multiple Spire Messengers simultaneously, and it continues showing Nephis and Arthur fighting side by side, showing their perfect synchronization and chemistry.
Then it cuts to both of them going up to fight the Crimson Terror together and a sequence of Sunny guiding the rest of the Sleepers towards the Gateway.
Once there, Sunny starts looking for Effie, who was carrying Cassie, and approaches both of them.
Looking at Effie, he says, "Promise me you'll take care of her for me."
She accepts without understanding the reason, and then Sunny approaches Cassie's unconscious body and kisses her on the forehead before disappearing towards the top to help Arthur and Nephis.
Now the audience burst into cheers again, saying Sunny and Cassie look so good together! Her Sunny!
The temperature in the theater began to rise until she felt a light tap on her arm coming from, precisely, Cassie.
Neph couldn't hide her anger and looked at her, wanting to smother her on the spot.
Cassie raised her arms and said, "I have nothing to do with it!"
She lowered her eyebrows slightly and was about to reproach her, but right then Effie spoke, barely containing her laughter, "You can't complain about anything, Princess, you stole her man from Cassie too!"
Neph swallowed and turned her focus back to the movie, which, luckily, was already ending. She couldn't wait to leave this place and write a terrible review on an anonymous account!
First, Nephis is shown dodging an attack from the Terror, and then Arthur cutting a tentacle at the last moment. The fight is intense, and at one point Caster appears to help them. The three of them begin to push the Terror back more and more, but after an unfortunate slip from Caster, he ends up receiving an attack from the Crimson Terror and dies.
'What? Sunny killed Caster, he didn't make it to the top.'
Seeing this, they both start attacking the Terror with more intensity until Nephis, after tense moments, finally kills it.
'Why would I fight with more intensity because Caster died? I would have been happy to see it!'
Both collapse to the ground exhausted and end up with their hands lightly touching. When they turned to look at each other with smiles, they receive the notification from the Spell, letting them know that one of them would have to stay behind.
Her right eye started twitching again at seeing them touch hands.
At that moment, Sunny arrives at the top, and the three of them decide to go down to the Gateway.
Once in front of the Gateway, Arthur remained silent for a few seconds.
The sound of the wind around the Gateway filled the space as everyone waited for his decision. Finally, he lifted his gaze and fixed it on Nephis. His expression, usually calm, turned serious.
"Nephis…"
'NO!' She began to plead mentally.
She looked at him without looking away.
Arthur took a step towards her.
"I always thought the Awakened only fought to survive," he said slowly. "But after meeting you, I understood something different."
'OH NO'
Nephis tilted her head slightly.
"What thing?"
Arthur smiled faintly.
"That some fight for something greater."
He stopped in front of her, so close that there was barely any space between them.
"You and I… we are alike in that. We share the same aspiration. To show the world what an Awakened should aspire to be."
Nephis observed him in silence.
"My heart burns brighter than your flames, because you have occupied it so well, my dear star."
'NONONONO'
The temperature in the theater rose dangerously again.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Then Arthur leaned in and kissed her softly.
Nephis died.
After separating, Nephis looked at him, holding his face, "Now that I've found you, I don't want to lose you, Arthur."
Nephis died again.
He smiled at this and gave her another fleeting kiss,
"I don't want to lose you either, Neph. I love you, and that's why I hope that in the future you can forgive me."
White flames began to envelop her, and the fire intensified, becoming almost blinding in its strength.
In a single motion, he pushed her through the Gateway. While she looked at him sadly.
Then Arthur looked at Sunny and pointed to the Gateway.
"You can go. There's still time."
Sunny shook his head, "After seeing you today… I understood what a true Awakened should aspire to be. I can't leave you alone."
On the screen, the image of Cassie appeared briefly.
Sunny smiled slightly. "I also have to be an example for the person I love."
Both eyes began to twitch, and the other armrest broke.
Arthur returned the smile. "We have a long road ahead, comrade. We better survive to see our loved ones again." The scene changed to a brief montage of both descending the Spire, and then the screen went dark, marking the end of the movie.
Nephis stood up immediately and left, still enveloped in flames, leaving burning footprints behind her. She waited for no one: neither her companions, nor the film crew, nor the journalists.
The Cohort followed her immediately after, and minutes later, the web was filled with people talking about how the great Changing Star left the cinema, emotional about the movie's ending.