Nephis was tired.
It was a cold, deep-seated exhaustion—one that had nothing to do with her essence and everything to do with the position she had willingly taken upon herself. She couldn't show it, of course. To the hundred souls currently living under her protection, she was Changing Star—unyielding, radiant, and immortal.
But as she sat in the makeshift strategy room of the stone lodge, she had to swallow the primal urge to simply bury her face in her hands. Instead, she listened to Effie's boisterous, unapologetic voice echoing off the stone walls.
"I mean, whose fault is it really?" Effie asked, casually picking at her ear while her mud-stained boots rested atop the heavy wooden table. "Mine for putting those idiots in their place, or theirs for being stupid enough to get killed in the Ruins?"
Nephis looked at the huntress, her silver-grey eyes flat. She couldn't hide the sigh this time. "...It's yours, Effie. This isn't the first time the Castle has sent provocations. But this time, their disappearance—despite having nothing to do with us—gives the Host exactly the justification they've been looking for to move against us."
Effie stopped her ear-picking and slowly lowered her legs, her gaze sharpening as she studied Nephis. After a beat of silence, she chuckled awkwardly. "The bastards had it coming, don't you think?"
Nephis finally gave in to the impulse and passed a hand over her eyes, the rough skin of her palm a reminder of the sword drills that never ended. Before she could retort, Caster intervened, his voice smooth and dangerously reasonable.
"This is serious, Effie. How many times must we discuss the delicate balance of—"
As Caster launched into a polished reprimand, Nephis turned her gaze toward the scion. They were the only three in the room, and her neutral mask was the perfect shroud for her thoughts. It hadn't taken her long to realize Caster was the blade sent by the Ghouls to ensure she never returned to the Waking World. His insistence on assisting her, it wasn't devotion. It was isolation.
And yet, she couldn't deny that he was one of her strongest allies... Aside from—
"I understand your point, Effie. I really do," Nephis said, cutting Caster off mid-sentence. Effie's eyes snapped to hers. "...But it wasn't wise. We have too much to prepare before we can leave this place. You're no longer alone, Effie. You have to consider what your actions bring to the rest of us."
The bravado drained out of the tall huntress. Effie lowered her eyes, actually looking chastened. "I'm sorry," she muttered with a heavy, genuine sigh.
Nephis watched her for a moment, then shook her head and walked toward the door. Caster moved instinctively to follow, his shadow lengthening across the floor. Nephis stopped and turned, her voice dropping into a sub-zero chill.
"Don't follow me. I have things to attend to alone."
Caster's eyes narrowed for a fraction of a second before his gentle, perfect smile returned. "Of course, Lady Nephis. I also have matters that require my attention." He bowed slightly and walked out with measured, elegant steps.
Effie started to follow, likely opening her mouth to crack a nasty joke to lighten the mood, but a sharp side-eye from Nephis was enough to kill the words in her throat. With an awkward cough, the huntress trailed after Caster, leaving Nephis in total silence.
She stood there for a long time, staring at the empty chairs. A final sigh escaped her as she finally stepped out into the main hall of the lodge.
The building had changed. It was no longer a cold stone shell; it felt alive. It was ground zero for the fire she had started. Sleepers roamed the halls, most of them non-combatants who handled the logistics—sorting salvaged materials, mending clothes, or preparing the meager rations the Hunters brought back from the Dark City.
"Good morning, Lady Changing Star!"
A young girl, humming as she folded a stack of rough-spun linens, greeted her with a bright, genuine smile. Nephis paused, the girl's face triggering a flicker of memory. She had been one of the first to join the lodge—a girl whose eyes had once been hollowed out by the unspeakable things the Castle Guards had done to her and her friends. Back then, Nephis hadn't believed the girl would ever find the strength to smile again.
Now, that smile bore the weight of a promised future.
Nephis walked through the halls, her exhaustion receding as she witnessed the fruits of their labor. What had been a desolate stone shell when the three of them arrived was now a sanctuary for a myriad of souls, each carrying their own fragmented dreams and longings. Yet, regardless of their pasts, every one of them pointed in the same direction. Nephis glanced out a high window; in the distance, the Bright Castle loomed, and further still, the Crimson Spire pierced the grey clouds.
Their destination.
With a cold fire igniting in her grey eyes, Nephis looked back at the people in the lodge—those who had staked their lives on her tomorrow. Her lip curled into a weak but honest smile. She stepped out of the lodge, her thoughts crystallizing as she surveyed the transformed settlement.
She was doing this for them. Their hopes were the fuel for her Will. She would carve a path out of this hell, she would bring light to the darkness, she would—
"...Please, Neph. Don't lie to yourself."
A foreign, painfully familiar voice echoed in the chambers of her mind, and her smile vanished instantly. A faint breeze brushed her silver hair, a phantom of a memory flickering through her gaze. She looked at the settlement again, and this time, her thoughts took a jagged, honest form.
'Every one of them... I'm ready to burn every single one of them if it takes me closer to those miserable ghouls... To the Spell... To a world that made it possible for Nightmares like this to exist.' Her face remained impassive, but her fists were clenched so tight her knuckles were white.
Cassie's voice joined the chorus of her thoughts, a haunting refrain: "Rivers of blood and a sea of fire..."
Nephis had long ago learned the meaning of that vision. But wasn't she already doing more than was necessary? A sudden image of a blue mantle disappearing into the night flashed before her eyes, but she shook it off. She was willing to build a road of bones for whoever was strong enough to walk it... She was no hero. She wasn't aiming to save the world.
And these people... they were not her responsibility. They needed to be strong, to stand on their own and walk her Path.
"...You lack the conviction to try and change it," the voice answered again, the calm of it mocked her.
A frown deepened on her lips. She took a controlled breath, smoothing her expression back into a mask of stone. She turned back toward the lodge, thinking with an angry scoff, 'Who does he think he is?'
She navigated the sea of people, nodding at the respectful greetings, until she reached the spacious kitchen. Cassie was there, helping move heavy pots and laughing with the other Sleepers. Nephis watched from the doorway, realizing how much her friend had changed since the Crimson Labyrinth. Cassie was smiling, exchanging a joke with a scarred girl—a sound that brightened the entire room.
And yet, a fleeting isolation crept into Nephis's heart. Everyone was working together, finding community in their shared struggle. But Nephis, the very banner they rallied under, felt suddenly excluded.
She was used to being alone, most of her childhood was spent around adults or with no one at all, there was nothing wrong with that. But seeing Cassie's easy grace made the truth undeniable: these people were not her friends. They were followers. Cassie had the knack for making herself loved... and then there was him, with that abnormal, frustrating charm for making connections even while being a Fool.
For a brief moment, Nephis felt like a stranger in her own house. Caster was a viper waiting for his moment; Effie had her own appetites to satisfy; and Cassie... Nephis looked at her first friend, knowing that beneath that smile, the girl was constantly plagued by terrible and heavy visions.
The worst part was that Nephis didn't know how to help her.
The isolation crept around her slightly, then was swallowed by her burning determination. 'I cannot doubt. I cannot collapse. I cannot fail. I cannot lose.' She was building a Path for them, there was no time for self-pity. She had already grown used to this, and that wouldn't change now.
After all, their time was running short.
'We'll have to begin searching for him in the Ruins soon,' Nephis thought with a heavy sigh. She couldn't deny that his presence was invaluable, and she would feel far more stable with him at their side.
Even now, she couldn't wrap her head around his decision to dive into the Dark City alone with his cursed Attribute. She felt a twinge of guilt, knowing she was about to ask him to join another nightmare expedition across the Dark Sea—the one place he feared most.
'No matter his fear, this is greater than one person's feelings,' she steeled herself. 'I'm sure we can find a way for him—'
Her thoughts were cut short. Cassie's head turned sharply toward the outer wall, her blindfold wrinkling as if she were looking straight through the stone.
"Cass?"
"He's here," Cassie said plainly, though Nephis caught the faint, unmistakable tremble in her voice.
"Where?" Nephis asked, her response faster than she intended.
Cassie turned to her, her frown deepening. "Where he always is."
Nephis didn't wait; she stormed out of the lodge. She tried to maintain her measured stride, but her steps betrayed her, quickening as the bustle of the settlement blurred into the background. She made her way toward his usual spot—the jagged edge of the ruins most now knew as the best vantage point for sightseeing the Dark City. Effie had even hauled a massive boulder there, claiming it was "a damn fine seat for a grim view."
Zachary's ability to weave himself into the lives of others, to leave a footprint on their minds even in his absence, was something Nephis truly admired—and occasionally envied. It was also what unsettled her most. Despite that effortless magnetism, he often felt like a complete stranger, a ghost standing in the center of the room. That was the very reason she had spoken those harsh words to him the night he left.
Shaking the memories from her head, Nephis reached the edge of the settlement. True to Cassie's word, he was there.
He rested calmly on the stone, leaning back as if enjoying a soft breeze on a spring day in the Waking World. His relaxed posture was an affront to the Dream Realm; he looked entirely too much at peace. His blue mantle danced quietly in the wind, the black lightning embroidery on his back shimmering under the dull grey sun.
He hadn't turned yet, but Nephis knew he felt her. She wasn't trying to hide her presence, but even if she had been, his senses had always been unnaturally, almost impossibly sharp.
A low, honest chuckle drifted from the rock. He turned, looking at her over his right shoulder with that familiar, roguish grin.
"...I guess you can always rely on seers to handle the scheduling, don't you think?"
Nephis listened to his voice for a heartbeat, her face a mask of stone. Her reply came a fraction of a second too late. "It is nice to see you, Zach."
With a final chuckle, he turned lazily on the boulder to face her fully. His crimson gaze met hers, but she could only focus on the harrowing, terrible ruin where his other eye should have been.
Her expression remained impassive, but her heart dropped into her stomach. Nephis had seen her share of gruesome wounds long before the Forgotten Shore. During her childhood, she had watched the last retainers of her clan dwindle, each bearing the jagged marks of a losing, silent war.
But she had seen nothing this brutal.
'Blunt trauma,' she recognized instantly. Unlike a clean cut, the wound descended irregularly from his forehead. The skin and flesh had been pulverized by an impossible force; his eye must have simply ceased to exist under the pressure. 'What could have done this?'
As she studied the damage, a chill settled in her marrow. It wasn't just the initial impact. There were gruesome, jagged scars at the corners of the socket, and a grotesque, puckered trace of burned flesh.
Her mind, sharpened by years of combat, filled in the terrifying details. After the blow, his skull must have been shattered. She could see the scene with haunting clarity: Zachary, alone in a desolate corner of the Dark City, rearranging the fragments of his own skull with his bare hands. She could imagine him biting back screams to avoid attracting monsters, cutting away the dead flesh, and finally, sealing the agony with the cauterizing blessing of fire.
Nephis understood that last part personally. She experienced it every time she invoked her Aspect. To her, pain was just a variable—something to be accepted for the sake of her goals. But she knew her mentality was far from normal. Seeing the evidence of such a self-inflicted, solitary nightmare on Zachary made her wonder what kind of monster he had to become to survive it.
For a moment, her hand rose a fraction of an inch toward his face, an instinctive reach for a comrade. She caught herself immediately, dropping her hand and searching his eye, praying he hadn't seen the lapse. But his widening grin told her he had. He always noticed.
Nephis wasn't proud of her lack of expression, but it usually had its uses. Yet, Zachary possessed an annoying facility for reading her. As she complained inwardly, she caught her own reflection in that lone, crimson jewel. A deep, primal discomfort stirred within her.
The feeling had always been there—a quiet, persistent warning at the back of her mind. She'd felt it at the Academy gates when he asked his senseless questions. She'd felt it in the Dojo when he systematically dismantled that Sleeper, his face a void even as the boy broke beneath him.
Then they encountered him at the basin on the Crimson Labyrinth.
They began traveling together, and the feeling remained—an unnatural wariness toward his very existence. At first, she thought it was experience, some hard-earned instinct warning her of a potential assassin. But the more she observed him, the less that explanation held. There was a disconnect between the warning and his behavior. So she realized the truth.
It wasn't experience.
It was instinct.
Something in her rejected him.
The journey continued, and so did the feeling. Still, Nephis trusted in her strength—in her ability to survive.
Then, she learned of his Attributes from Cas—
And then he helped them escape the Ashen Barrow, and she finally accepted that he had no intention of acting against her. Against her own instincts, she chose to ignore the unease when they arrived at the Dark City. For a time, she believed she had outgrown it.
But then, once again today, she saw that savage glow in his crimson eye—so foreign against the calm curve of his smile—and the feeling surged back, stronger than ever. No longer just wariness. Now it was deeper, hotter. It felt as though her very blood—her very soul—was warning her.
Telling her that the thing standing before her was dangerous.
It cost her a great deal of control not to reveal that sudden tension, and even more to ignore the alarm. Zachary had long since proven his selflessness, his goodwill—toward her, toward all of them. And yet…
That growing unease made one thing painfully clear: the man standing before them was not the same one who had left that night.
Something had changed. And if she wanted him to stand with them again, she needed to understand what. Drawing a slow breath and steadying her expression, Nephis finally spoke.
"...What happened to you?"
***
'What happened to me?' Zachary asked himself, maintaining his relaxed posture on the stone. He didn't stand; he simply looked up at her, letting the silence stretch. 'A lot of things, actually.'
His mind drifted through the blur of the past three months. It had been a heartbeat in time, yet he felt as though he'd lived a lifetime within the jagged shadows of the ruins. Seeing Nephis's expression—that strained, clinical calm—he finally let out a short, sharp laugh.
"A stone hit me."
Nephis tried to maintain her mask, but her features twitched at the nonsensical brevity of the answer. Zachary chuckled at the look on her face, resting his chin in his palm. He looked up at her, but a sudden, heavy sigh escaped him as his thoughts drifted back to the Guards. To the cold admission of his own detachment.
Aside from tactical planning, he had spent his sleepless nights in isolation dissecting his own reality. There was no denying this world was real—the laws governing it were firm, undeniable, and often brutal. Yet, there was also no denying that he had once read about this world and its very laws on a glowing screen.
He watched Nephis regain her aloof composure. He recognized her as the "Character" Nephis; he knew her virtues, her tragic lineage, her inevitable successes. But the girl in front of him was constantly clashing with the ink on the page. She was experiencing things the novel hadn't recorded.
She was becoming her own person.
'They're real...' Zachary told himself. His Mind accepted the statement, but the void in his heart remained stubbornly silent. The lack of emotion was the only proof of the civil war raging inside him.
'A truth I know, and yet cannot recognize... How would Mara's Whisper answer that one?' He scoffed at the thought.
The [Penance of Truth] remained his only failsafe against his Flaw, and while he planned on undergoing another Penance soon, he knew he couldn't rely on crutches forever. Zachary would have to learn to deal with his Flaw on his own
He ruffled his hair as Nephis gave a quiet, awkward cough into her palm. His eye regained its focus. 'It's only been a few months. I've been too busy surviving to fix my head. I'll worry about my sanity once I'm in a better place... physically and mentally.'
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Nephis finally said, her voice dropping an octave. She shifted her weight, adding almost tentatively, "It's... it's good to see you alive, Zach."
She glanced past him toward the Dark City for a brief second before locking eyes with his remaining crimson jewel. "So, what brings you back to the Bright Castle? Are you—"
"I'm here to meet a friend," Zachary interrupted. Seeing the sudden shift in her expression, he quickly clarified, "He's inside the Castle."
Nephis's gaze turned razor-sharp instantly. "Host?"
He considered that. While Harper had ties to the Artisans thanks to his maneuvering, the boy wasn't an official member of Gunlaug's inner circle.
"No," Zachary said with a shake of his head. He paused, an amused, provocative grin spreading across his lips. "And even if he was, what does that have to do with you, Neph?"
Nephis raised a pale eyebrow, her tone professional. "You're aware the Settlement is not on good terms with them. And considering how often their 'Hunters' come looking for you, I think I have a right to know if you have business with the Castle."
'What a good answer,' Zachary scoffed, leaning back against the stone. "Oh, well. I don't think you have anything to worry about. Besides, if I had any intention of joining Gunlaug, I would have done it the night I left. It certainly would have been a safer option than wandering into the ruins alone, don't you think?"
Nephis held his gaze for a few seconds, her grey eyes searching for any flicker of falsehood. Finding none, she sighed. "I see. Do you... do you want to go somewhere quiet to talk? I have something to tell you."
Zachary's smile faded. This was it—the invitation to the Main Quest. And while he desperately wanted to hear her strategy and compare it to his knowledge, his immediate priority was Harper. He needed to finish setting his own pieces.
'Where are they? Why are they so late?' Zachary wondered, his annoyance bubbling up. He turned back to Nephis. "While I definitely want to talk, I already told you—I'm here to meet some people."
Nephis arched an eyebrow, her doubt finally coloring her voice. "You're here to meet a 'friend' from the Castle... out here, on the furthest edge of the Outer Settlement?"
He sighed, looking toward the white walls in the distance. "Well, you know I'm a coveted man, Neph. I don't know how the Host will react if I just stroll up to their front door, so I sent some guy to fetch him for me."
Just as the words left his mouth, he spotted a figure approaching from behind Nephis. His grin widened, and he raised a hand in a careless wave. "Speaking of the devil, he's right over there."
Nephis's lips twisted in an almost imperceptible flinch of annoyance as she turned to see the newcomer. Zachary didn't pay her any mind; his focus was on the lone figure of Kai.
'Where the hell is Harper?'
Kai continued his stroll toward them, his charming, effortless smile firmly in place. Zachary was about to voice his question when Nephis suddenly flinched. She took a sharp step back, her face draining of color as her grey irises trembled.
Zachary couldn't help but let out a short laugh. Seeing this reaction in person was a world away from simply reading about it. Kai's smile turned slightly awkward as he witnessed Nephis's state; her mouth opened and closed soundlessly, like a fish out of water, before she whipped her head toward Zachary.
"So, Zach?" Kai asked, tilting his head. "Who's your friend?"
At the sound of his voice, Nephis seemed to regain a fraction of her composure, though she still looked profoundly shaken. Zachary, still seated on the boulder, leaned to his side to peer around her at the dashing archer.
"What took you so long, dude? And where's Harper? You were sent for him in the first place."
Kai laughed apologetically, scratching the back of his neck. "Yes, about that... I spoke with him at the reception, and he said—"
Before he could finish, Nephis leaned toward Zachary, whispering loudly enough for the entire settlement to hear. "Zach... what is Night doing here?"
"You're calling him 'Night' too? Is there a resemblance I'm missing, or is it just a vibe?" Zachary asked with a scoff.
Kai passed a tired palm over his face at the dismissive gesture, but Zachary ignored him and pressed on. "He's the guy I sent to run an errand at the Castle. Now, Kai, you were saying about Harper?"
"Oh, yes!" Kai nodded, his professional cheer returning. "He said that he would—"
"'The guy'?!" Nephis interrupted again, sounding more offended by Zachary's casual tone than the situation itself. She shook her head, trying to focus. "No, forget that. What is he doing here?"
Zachary passed a hand over his own face. "I found him in a hole in the ruins. He's doing me a favor. Now, about Harper. What did he—"
"No! I mean, what is Night doing here, on the Forgotten Shore!"
Zachary sighed, he was tired.
It was a cold, deep-seated exhaustion—one that had nothing to do with essence and everything to do with the two people in front of him. He'd enjoyed the bit, but he had a schedule to keep.
"Neph, can I finish my talk with my friend Kai? If you know him from the outside, I'm sure you can catch up later. Right now, I want to—"
But Nephis had her priorities straight. "You... you really don't know who he is?"
"He really doesn't," Kai laughed sheepishly, though his expression turned a bit strained. "I'd say it's refreshing, but he seems to have some very... strong opinions about music."
Zachary looked up at the grey sky and sighed, deciding to finish the bit. "Should I?"
He'd noticed one useful quirk of Kai's Flaw: answering with a question didn't register as a truth or a lie. It was the perfect deflection, and it worked on both of them.
A tiny vein throbbed on Nephis's forehead. "That's Night, you moron! Night from Nightingale! The Night!"
Zachary looked at Kai for a long, skeptical second before turning back to Nephis. He pointed a thumb dismissively at the archer. "Him? You sure?"
Nephis's mouth fell open in a dejected expression. Her hands rose as if she wanted to wrap them around his neck.
"I'm sure... I'm sure! Of course I'm sure! He's the lead vocalist of the most famous idol group of the last decade. Triple Orpheus winners. One hundred consecutive weeks at the top of the charts. Six diamond albums. That Nightingale. That Night."
Zachary nodded along to every word, and Kai—despite trying to act humble—looked quite proud of the recognition. It seemed the comments about his name had made the archer self-conscious, but as Kai looked to Zachary for some sliver of approval, Zachary just smiled wickedly.
"I mean... they can't be that great, right? Considering I haven't heard a single one of their songs or seen a music video."
Nephis and Kai both stared at him instantly—The latter dejected by the blunt truth, and the former shocked by the blasphemous ignorance. But Zachary wasn't done.
"And come on. Orpheus awards aside... if you really call yourself an artist, you should be aiming for a Grammy, shouldn't you?"
Nephis looked at him, her face pale as she struggled to find a response to the absolute nonsense coming out of his mouth. But before she could apologize to Kai for Zachary's transgression, a loud, honest laugh erupted from the archer.
"Ha ha ha!" Kai clutched his stomach, wiping a stray tear from the corner of his eye. "I have never heard anything like that before!" He let out a long, wistful sigh. "And while I share your opinion about the Grammys, Zach... unfortunately, the Academy is no more. So, we have to make do with the Orpheus."
Zachary laughed along with Kai, while Nephis stood between them looking utterly lost. The transition between mighty Legacy and confused fan utterly comedic. With a tired sigh, Zachary decided to spare her further torment, giving her a brief, simplified breakdown of the pop-star-turned-archer situation.
The two of them reached an understanding with surprising speed, but as Kai turned back to Zachary to ask for the girl's name, a wicked glint appeared in his" crimson eye. "Oh, right. Where are my manners, man?"
Nephis turned to him sharply, catching the mischievous tilt of his head, but she was a second too late to stop him.
"This is Nephis. Though these days, she goes by a much loftier title. You might have heard of her... meet Changing Star of the Immortal Flame clan. Agent of wealth, bearer of needs, savior of the weak, and defender of the realm."
His grin widened as he looked straight at Nephis. Even from his seated position on the boulder, he seemed to hold her gaze on equal terms, the casual mockery in his voice masking a deeper challenge.
"...She's the one who's going to take all of us out of this place. Isn't that right, Neph?"
While Kai looked on, genuinely shocked by the revelation of her lineage, Nephis's faint blush vanished, replaced by an icy glare. she saw right through him—he wasn't just introducing her; he was reminding her of the crushing weight of the pedestal she had built for herself.
Without looking at the awestruck idol, she said flatly, "...I'll try."
Kai didn't blink. On the contrary, he looked at Nephis with a newfound, heavy respect. Zachary chuckled; it was a clever answer. There was no way to prove the "honesty" of an attempt, after all.
"Do or do not. There is no try," Zachary lampooned, a groan escaping him as he finally stood up from the stone. He stretched his limbs, the black lightning on his mantle catching the light as he walked past Nephis to rest a hand on Kai's shoulder. "Well, my friend is here, Neph. We have things to do, so..."
A sudden, iron grip clamped around his wrist.
Nephis was staring at him, her previous flustered expression entirely gone. Her face was a mask of cold, hard focus once more. "We have to talk, Zach," she said, her voice dropping into a register that signaled the end of the games. "I have something important to discuss with you. It is a matter of life and death."
Kai's face turned grim. He didn't need his Flaw to recognize the absolute, jagged truth in her statement.
Zachary remained unmoving, looking down at the pale hand gripping his sleeve. Those words—the same ones from the novel—acted like a bucket of ice water, sobering him instantly. The vacation in the ruins was over, now it was time to work.
"Sure, Neph," he said with a quiet sigh, gently but firmly disengaging his arm. "But it'll have to wait. I have someone waiting for me, too. I'll find you at the lodge later, oh! I'll be bringing Kai with me."
The archer wanted to voice a complain, but noticing the tense air he was wise enough to remain silent. Nephis studied him, her thoughts clouded behind those stormy grey eyes. After a long silence, she gave a single, sharp nod. "Let's do that."
Without another word, she turned and walked back toward the settlement, her white tunic fluttering in the wind.
Zachary watched her retreating back until she was out of earshot, then turned to Kai with a sharp, focused look. The playfulness was gone. "Now, finally. What did Harper say?"
It seemed there was nothing to worry about regarding Harper. The young man had been buried in work, and Kai had needed to subtly lead a few curious Guards on a chase before they could speak undisturbed. Upon learning that Zachary was waiting, Harper had moved with frantic efficiency. After outwitting his watchers and slipping through a side maintenance door, he sent word through Kai: he would meet them at the hovel.
The hut where it had all started.
Kai didn't know the significance of the place, but Zachary remembered that night with crystalline clarity. It was the night he had made a promise that should have been impossible.
As they reached the ruined structure, Kai looked at the sagging roof and crumbling stone for a fleeting second before turning to Zachary with a strained, polite smile. "Do you want me to wait outside... or—"
"You can come in. This will be fast," Zachary said, ducking through the makeshift door.
Harper was already inside. He bolted upright from a small, rickety table the moment he saw them, a nervous but honest smile plastered on his face. "Z-Zach! And N-Night! It's... it's really good to see you."
"Likewise, Harper," Zachary said, his own smile genuine.
He hadn't fully processed it before, but seeing the boy who was destined to be a footnote in a tragedy standing here, breathing and hopeful, fueled Zachary's resolve. It was a faint proof that his goal might become true. "I'd love to catch up properly, but we have to move quickly."
Zachary patted Harper's shoulder and sat on the dirt floor. Kai looked at the dust for a long moment, then, with a silent sigh of resignation, sat beside him. Harper nodded, his eyes bright with a newfound pride as he pulled a medium-sized bundle from beneath the table.
"It... it might not be as complete as what the Artisans gave you last time," Harper said sheepishly, pushing the bundle toward him. "But when I heard you were looking for me, I prepared this for you, Zach."
Zachary looked surprised as he took the bundle. "Thanks, man. Truly. Now, tell me—how have you been? How is the task coming along?"
The boy's face transformed. The stuttering nervousness vanished, replaced by the quiet confidence of a man with a mission. "Great, actually! It just took a little time for them to start opening up. You remember Derek? He actually hopes to..."
Harper didn't know why Zachary had tasked him with such a strange job, but he had followed the instructions to the letter. He began to recount what he had learned: how one of the veteran Hunters secretly wanted to play a specific Dreamscape game when he returned; how a Tenant dreamed of joining his father's shipping company instead of being an Awakened.
Zachary listened with predatory focus to every mundane, common dream. He was unburying the humanity that the Shore had tried to grind into dust.
Kai noticed it too. His eyes widened as he interjected, "Wait... are you two the reason people in the Castle have started talking about this?"
Zachary grinned at the idol. "It's mostly him. I've been a bit of a hermit lately."
Harper lowered his eyes, clearly embarrassed by the recognition. But Kai's surprise was justified. Before Harper's quiet intervention, speaking of the Waking World was almost a taboo—a painful reminder that invited judgment or pity. Now, it was becoming normal again. It wasn't a blazing fire of hope yet, but it was a pilot light. And for Zachary, that was enough.
"The ability to dream, to long for something... it shouldn't be lost," Zachary said, his voice low and resonant as he toyed with the bundle on the table. "It's what makes us human. And in this Forgotten Shore, humanity is what we need the most."
"Harper." The boy jumped slightly as Zachary's gaze locked onto his. "What do you dream about?"
Harper didn't hesitate. "I dream of apologizing to my father and my sister. I want to see my family again."
His voice was clear, stripped of all doubt. He waited a beat, then looked at Zachary tentatively. "Zach... what about you? What do you dream about?"
Zachary blinked, momentarily caught off guard. He looked at the boy's earnest eyes and realized Harper was trying to understand the man who had saved him. Zachary chuckled as he noticed Kai leaning in, equally curious.
"Me? That's simple. I dream of returning home."
Kai and Harper both nodded in solemn understanding, completely missing the cosmic, hidden weight behind the word 'home.'
Zachary turned his attention to the dashing archer. Kai looked utterly out of place in the squalor of the hovel, his beauty making the room feel even more dilapidated by contrast. The atmosphere shifted, turning heavy with intent.
"So, Dreamer Kai... let me ask you. What do you dream about?"
The question was simple, but the silence that followed was massive. Kai couldn't answer. A deep frown marred his perfect features as he searched his own soul for a response. While the idol remained lost in thought, Zachary turned back to the scrawny boy.
"Harper." The boy tensed. "Things are about to turn hectic. I—and by extension, you—will be in the middle of it. A lot of eyes are going to be on us."
Harper gulped, his hands shaking, but he clenched them into fists. "I'm... I'm listening."
"Do you know Cera? The Artisan girl with the thick glasses? She—"
"Oh, Glue Girl," Harper said in recognition.
Zachary coughed awkwardly. "Yes, her. And let's maybe not call her that to her face." He reached into his mantle and pulled out a tied parchment. "Give this to her. It's a recipe. Tell her it's of the utmost importance, and that it will put her Ability to much better use than making adhesive."
As Harper took the parchment, Zachary unclipped a heavy pouch from his belt and emptied it onto the table. Fifty soul shards spilled out, glowing with a soft, ethereal light.
Kai snapped out of his trance, staring at the sudden fortune with pure shock. Even Harper, who knew what Zachary was capable of, looked staggered.
"Give thirty to Cera as an advance. That should ensure she takes the commission seriously," Zachary instructed. Harper nodded, his hand trembling as he grabbed the pouch. "Take the other twenty for yourself. Keep them close. If things get ugly, buy the protection of the Artisans. Being my friend might not be enough to keep you safe soon."
The boy paled, cold sweat slicking his brow, but he nodded with a fierce, determined light in his eyes. Zachary pulled a second parchment from his bosom.
"This is for you. Instructions. Don't read them now. You'll know when it's time."
Kai and Harper watched Zachary with identical expressions of bewilderment. It was a strange, cryptic order, but neither questioned it. One because his Flaw told him it was the truth; the other because he simply believed in the man who had given him a future.
Zachary stood up with a groan looking at his wrist. "I'd love to stay, Harper, but I'm behind schedule." He walked toward the door, Kai trailing behind him. Just before stepping out, Zachary paused without looking back. "We might not see each other for a while, man. Be strong."
"You too... brother."
The word hit Zachary like a physical weight. 'Cheeky brat,' he thought with a private smirk as they stepped out into the grey sunlight of the settlement.
"He's a good kid," Kai said softly, watching Harper's small silhouette retreat toward the Castle.
"...He is," Zachary replied. "Come on. They're waiting for us."
They walked in silence for a minute before Kai spoke up, his voice serious. "Zach... why did you really want me to come with you today?"
Zachary glanced at the idol, an amused glint in his eye. "Do you want a truth or a lie?"
Kai sighed, unable to hide his curiosity. "A lie."
"I want you to tell me if I'm being lied to."
Kai's brow furrowed. "And... the truth?"
Zachary chuckled. "I think they might say something that will interest you."
The archer stopped dead in his tracks, blinking as he processed the words. He hurried to catch up, grumbling under his breath. "Wait... how does that work? They're both true!"
With a loud, honest laugh from Zachary, the duo finally reached the stone lodge.