After Sunless defeated the Carapace Demon, the group decided to rest on the massive tree for a while, they were relatively close to the castle now, and whether they wanted to admit it or not, Sunless and Nephis were tired after so many days hunting and traveling non stop.
Plus, the fruits of the tree were delicious, it even gave them soul fragments.
Nephis was a little annoyed to stop but even she had to admit she needed some rest. Although she doubted her mind would ever rest while the Prince of Song was with her.
No matter how much she tried, Nephis couldn't help but be paranoid. Sunless was the son of Ki Song, the woman that betrayed her father, tried to assassinate her, and helped bring her clan to the state it was now.
Yet here he was, saying that the Song Clan meant no harm, claiming that there was more to the story of Ki Song's and Anvil's betrayal. And not once showing hostility towards her.
When she first discovered his identity, she immediately saw him as a threat, but then she heard his confrontation with Caster. Not once did it seem like he was lying, every talk she had with him, he looked genuine. It wasn't like Caster's acting.
She approached him at first to learn his true intentions and see if she could discover something of Song, yet found herself enjoying his company.
That scared her…
Then the Nightmare Spell dropped them in the same Death Zone of the Dream Realm. And she was forced to work with him to survive.
And no matter how many chances he had to kill her, Sunless never took them, rather, he protected her every time.
Not to mention the fact he was stronger then her, it was obvious he had already saturated his core thanks to his family and how he made a deal to give her all the soul shards, even then he seemed to get stronger every time he killed something.
It was all so confusing.
One day the group was sitting on the little camp they made, Cassie was sleeping while Sunny and Nephis were awake, the boy seemed to look at his runes. The girl stared at him.
'What should I do…?'
"It's rude to stare you know?"
His statement snapped her out of her thoughts.
"Is there a problem Neph?"
After a few moments, she asked the first thing not related to their parents that came to mind.
"Since when do you call me Neph?"
She was slow to notice, but Sunless definitely began to call her by a nickname in the past couple of days, she didn't exactly give him permission.
The Prince's eyes widened in surprise, looking like he didn't notice what he was doing.
"Oh… I don't really know… I just started one day and you didn't really complain."
Nephis responded with a simple nod, and the conversation died right after.
She was not good at being social.
Some minutes passed in relative silence, the brushing of the leaves the only thing breaking it.
Looking at Cassie sleeping, Nephis decided to ask something else.
"Will you tell her? Who are you?"
Sunless followed her gaze to find the blind girl sleeping peacefully on the bark of the tree.
"Eventually, yes. But there's no use in telling her now, especially with you not trusting me."
The gray eyes of the girl slowly returned to the heir of Song. Her face is still the mask of indifference.
"Was it that obvious?"
"No, but the way you reacted to me defeating the Carapace Demon gave it away."
Nephis scoffed, a rare emotion for her to show.
"Tell me Sunless Song, why should I trust you? Why should I believe that your mother is innocent in the death of my father?"
Sunny studied her for a few seconds, then sighed in exhaustion.
"By all accounts, you shouldn't. You should doubt everything that comes out of my mouth."
He paused for a moment, letting the statement settle.
"And I never said my mother was innocent."
Nephis looked at him with disbelief.
"Then what do you want to tell me?"
Sunless sighed, his hollow eyes reflecting an abyss of shadows. An indescribable emotion showing.
"That my mother made more mistakes than she could ever apologize for… And for you to think before going against the Sovereigns"
Nephis closed her fist in anger. He dared to judge her, to say for her to be better? After everything she went through?
"Shut up! You don't-"
"Do you even know why they did what they did? Why haven't they challenged the 5th Nightmare? Why did they betray Broken Sword?"
"The 'why' doesn't matter, what matters is that they did it! They are heartless, emotionless ghouls that took everything from me!"
Sunless face twisted in anger.
"Don't call my mother a ghoul… Ever again."
"Hmp… So that's the truth, you just can't accept that she is a monster."
Sunless got up and walked to Nephis' side, grabbing her wrist and forcing her to look at him.
"Don't. Ever. Say. That. Again. Or I'll make sure your foolish father is forgotten by all of humanity."
His face was emotionless, but his voice was filled with anger. His eyes, dark and hollow.
Nephis didn't waver, she stared right back at him, no fear in her gray eyes. Giving him a small smirk.
"Why bother? Just kill me right here, it will be much easier."
The boy hesitated, not believing in her words.
"Isn't that what you want? To make me shut up? To protect your mother's honor?"
Sunless let go of her wrist.
"In the end, aren't you her weapon? Her sword? Her shadow?!"
This time she grabbed his wrist and forced him closer.
"Then prove you are a good son! And kill me!"
Moments passed, they stared at each other, neither moving an inch.
Sunless broke the silence.
"Huh… Looks like we are both disappointments."
Nephis let him go and sat back down.
"Seems like it…"
He sat next to her, they didn't dare to look at each other.
It was liberating really, Nephis wanted to vent her frustrations for a while now. And now she knew why Sunless wanted to protect her, why he defended Ki Song so much…
It's not just because she saved him from the outskirts, or that he thought she was innocent.
It's because he knows the reasons as to why she betrayed Broken Sword, and understood them, but still thought they were wrong.
He never once said the Sovereigns were right after all.
And if Ki Song let him have that idea…
Maybe she really did regret everything…
Maybe… It's the same for herself, she never really thought of why her father was betrayed, or why the Sovereigns targeted her and her clan so badly…
She needed to know more…
"Neph?"
She turned her head to look at him, he was still avoiding her gaze.
"I'm sorry… For calling your father foolish."
She stared for a couple of seconds, eventually sighing.
"Me too, I'm sorry for calling your mother a ghoul… And a monster."
Sunny sighed and looked to the sky.
"Truth is, we don't know everything that happened, we only have what they told us…"
He then looked right in Nephis' eyes.
"But if there's one thing I can guarantee you, is that Song will never target Immortal Flame, ever again."
Nephis searched his eyes looking for any hint of treacherie. And found only honesty.
She didn't respond, she merely turned to the white flames of the bonfire.
So complicated… Things will get even worse once she get's…
"....."
'Wait… Where…'
Dread filled her heart.
"Sunny…"
The boy turned to her.
"Yeah? What is it?"
The girl looked at him, fear creeping in her body.
"Where… Are we supposed to go?"
Sunny looked confused… Before the same dread appeared on his face.
He looked around, trying to remember.
"Why… Why can I only think of this damn tree?!"
—
Sunny tried again and again to remember where they needed to go, where they even were, but all he could think of was the great tree he was on.
"Damnation… Since when…?"
It was weird, why did they stay there for so long in the first place? They had no reason to. Rather, they needed to be somewhere else.
But all he thought of was the tree.
There had to be a reason, something was affecting his ability to think, and he needed to figure it out soon, otherwise he might start forgetting important things, like…
'Like what…?'
Why did he even want to get out of the tree again?
He was comfortable, the tree was nice, he could-
He slammed his hand into his head with so much strength it made a mark.
"Damnation! Why can't I remember?!"
There was something, something that could make him remember, but what?
Maybe a fruit from the tree could clear his mind-
He summoned [BloodRaven] and hit the hilt of it on his head, so hard his forehead bleed.
"Damn it!"
He gripped the odachi hard. The damn mind hex was tearing his line of thought.
'Wait…[BloodRaven]?'
He summoned his runes. Ignoring everything until he found what he was looking for.
[The Darkness Connection]
Revel.
The name was important, but he still couldn't quite remember.
'Damnation, I could remember so much just a few seconds ago, why can't I now!?'
Then he noticed that in Revel's runes, the memory section currently only had one.
Memories: [WAKE UP!]
'Huh?'
Memory Description: [YOU ARE IN A MIND HEX, LOOK AT YOUR ATTRIBUTES! IT'S A SOUL-DEVOURING TREE! GET OUT OF THERE!]
It was like a bucket of cold water washed over him, he seemed to overcome the hex momentarily.
Although they were still affected, the memories became clearer, and he could finally understand the reality of the situation and think clearly.
'By the Dead Gods… I really failed this time.'
He took a look at his attributes.
Attributes: [Fated], [Flame of Divinity], [Heir of Shadows], [The Shadow], [The Blood's Shadow], [Embodiment of Death and Solice].
There was nothing different, but he was in a hex, it could be messing with what he was seeing.
'Whatever, I'll trust Rev on this.'
He dismissed his runes and got up. Turning to Nephis, she was staring at him, but her face showed that she was not paying attention.
They were having a normal conversation not too long ago. Is the tree trying to accelerate the process?
He looked at where Cassie was sleeping, only to not find her.
'Not now!'
"Nephis!"
"Hm? What?"
Sunless then told her the situation, how the Soul-Devouring tree put them in a mind hex for some days. That he was able to break free with help of his memory [BloodRaven], clearing his mind by remembering his family. Technically true, it was thanks to the odachi that he remembered his sister.
He didn't mention his connection with Revel and his Innate Ability since it didn't help the situation and the fact it could reveal his True Name.
He still didn't trust Nephis completely. And she was in a mind hex, so simplifying would help her comprehend.
After everything, she simply hummed in understanding.
"I see."
Sunny's right eye twitched.
'Seriously? How do you react like that?!'
He kept his thoughts inside his head and focused on the matter.
"We have to get out of here, return to the labyrinth, find another way to get to the castle."
Nephis chuckled lightly.
"And risk our lives even more? No, we have to go west, right now."
Sunny stared at Changing Star confused.
"And how do we do that? Soon night will come, the Dark Sea with it, together with a tone of nightmare creatures. And I don't suppose you plan to swim do you?"
"Of course not… We are building a boat."
—
"Damnation Cassie, you just had to climb to the top?"
Sunless was currently climbing the Soul-Devouring tree to find Cassie, he had used his improved shadow sense and located her in the middle of a climb to where they had found the fruits of the tree. The tree was full of sharp edges and rough bark, it was difficult, and it didn't help that it seemed that it was getting even more difficult to climb as he advanced, as if the tree made it harder intently.
'Now it's really trying to stop me.'
In hindsight, although Nephis's plan seemed insane at first, it was really the only option.
As far as they knew, this was the only route to the castle. There weren't any landmarks visible on the horizon. And they were running out of time.
So Nephis started to build a boat for them to travel the dangerous waters of the Dark Sea.
'But on second thought, maybe we should stay a little more until…'
He moved his hand inside [Endless Torture] and grabbed a knife, stabbing his own hip to snap himself back into reality.
"Agh! Focus!"
He continued to climb. Still questioning why, Cassie would get so far on the tree in the first place.
'How can she even climb? She's blind, and the tree doesn't want me here, I already passed the fruits.'
Was she so enthralled that the tree guided her to the top?
His wound was healing slowly, [The Blood's Shadow] was doing its work. Even though it was not the true lineage of Beast God, it still did the same.
He looked back to the ground, he could still see Nephis working on the boat, quickly finishing it.
Sunny left Serpent with her in case she fell to the mind hex again. He still held onto Wraith in case there was something on top, or if the tree actively started to attack him.
In case she did fall to the mind hex, she had told him what to tell her to make her wake up.
'Aster, Vale, Song.'
Of course, the three names that constantly haunt her.
Aster, the Dreamspawn, that thing.
Vale, the King of Swords, Anvil of Valor.
Song, the Raven Queen… His mother.
The ones who destroyed her life…
'But… Will that include me…?'
As the son of Song, will she, in the midst of the mind-hex, see him as an enemy?
'No time to think, I need to keep going.'
Getting rid of the doubts, he continued to climb, close to reaching the top, he could feel through shadow sense, there was something there other than Cassie.
She had stopped for a while, and now he could tell she was close to whatever was emanating a deep, dark, shadow.
He finally reached the destination, standing up and finding Cassie on the center of the bark platform. Right in front of a big egg.
That egg was the thing emanating the dark shadow he was sensing.
"Cassie! Get away from that!"
Cassie stood still, not looking back, instead, she got closer to the egg. Reaching a hand to it.
Sunny didn't think twice.
Already having wrapped both his shadows onto his body, he ran to her. Putting all his strength, trying to reach her before she touched the being.
"Cassie! Snap out of it!"
It was useless, the blind girl didn't react. Her arm already stretched out.
Sunless summoned [BloodRaven], white sparks flew through the air as the dark crimson odachi appeared in his hand.
Cassie's fingers were about to touch the big egg…
Sunless reached her.
Grabbing her shoulder, he pulled her back, making her drop to the ground.
He then slashed the egg with his sword, breaking the shell and easily cutting it in two.
[You have slain a Great Devil, Vile Thieving Bird's Spawn.]
[Your shadow grows stronger…]
[You have received a Memory.]
Sunless eyes widened in shock and confusion.
'What?! A Great Devil?!'
He tried to maintain his footing, what had just happened was, for a lack of a better word, impossible, but he didn't have time to understand.
He turned around to see Cassie, who was getting up, dazed and confused.
"What… Is-"
Sunless grabbed her and pulled her onto his back. Carrying her, he ran as fast as he could, jumping the edge and piercing [BloodRaven] in the bark of the tree, slowing the fall.
"AAAHHHHHHH"
Cassie screamed, confused as she held Sunny with all her strength, hugging his neck.
"WHAT'S HAPPENING?!!"
Sunless had to scream to answer her thanks to his flaw.
"We are falling!!"
"AAAHHHH!!!"
After a couple of seconds, they finally reached the part of the tree they made camp.
Nephis had finished the boat, it was ready to sail, good timing too, the sun was setting, the night was coming, together with it, the Dark Sea.
Changing Star was sitting near it, looking west with an indifferent expression.
Serpent slithered to Sunless, fusing with his skin and becoming a tattoo.
"Sunny… Why are you carrying me?"
Cassie asked, seemingly ignoring what had just happened.
'She's way too deep in the mind-hex.'
His flaw forced him to answer
"Because we needed to get down quickly."
He walked to the boat quickly, trying not to make her notice.
"Why?"
'Damn flaw!'
He tried to hold it in, but the pain was too much.
"Because we are getting out of here."
"No! I don't want to! I want to stay here!"
Cassie immediately started to move erratically, resisting Sunny's grasp and hitting him violently.
He dropped her to the ground and started to drag her like a child, his strength far surpassing hers.
"Stop Sunny! You are insane!"
She desperately tried to escape him, her screams finally getting Nephis attention.
"Nephis! Sunny is crazy! He wants to get me out of here!"
Nephis stood up and summoned her blade, pointing it at Sunless.
"Explain yourself, or I will cut you down."
Sunny sighed, of course Serpent wasn't enough. He looked back at Nephis and said the three names.
"Aster, Vale, Song…"
The silver haired girl's eyes sharpened, hatred burned in them.
"...Smile of Heaven, Broken Sword."
Her eyes widened, after a few seconds, she lowered her sword.
"Alright, son of Song… I'll consider this time."
Nephis helped Sunless get Cassie on the boat, tying the blind girl with [Weak Link], who was resisting the whole time.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!!?"
They ignored her, Sunless knocked her down by striking the nape of her neck, she passed out, and waited a few minutes for nightfall.
Sunless knew saying the three names of the Sovereigns could backfire since the mind-hex still let them remember who each other were, Cassie still knowing who Sunny was showed that. So Nephis knew that Sunny was the son of Song, she could see him as an enemy.
So he told the names of Nephis' parents, that way she may see him as an ally, or even wake her up.
It worked.
"I'll explain everything afterwards."
She didn't answer, only watched him intently.
The night finally came, the Dark Sea emerged.
The branches of the tree started to reach them, as if demanding they stay.
Its demands were ignored, and the three Sleepers launched to sail in the simple boat.