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Nephis stood in the starlit void of the Spell, silver ethereal strings stretched off into the abyss each one connecting to a brilliant nexus of stars, some small and weak, others big and blazing with power.
Nephis could admit it was one of the most beautiful things she’d ever seen.
Even then, she still hated it.
But right now what was on her mind wasn’t her smouldering hatred for the Spell, it was someone so much more insignificant when compared to that absolute law of reality, someone she held dear to heart and someone whose runes that she took comfort in for so long where no longer available for her to see, regardless of how many times she desperately tried to bring up that information.
Sunny….
‘What did you do?’ Nephis brought a hand up to her face, trying and failing to stifle the anxiety that was welling up in her chest.
It started when they came back from the scouting expedition on Verge, Mordret unpleasant he may have been was an excellent scout, they were able to get all they needed to create a plan to properly storm the city, beat the Nightmare and come back to the waking world, wreathed in Sainthood.
That all came crashing down when they saw Cassie on the Chainbreaker, alone, eyes rimmed with red and looking at them as if she lost something precious.
The Cohort didn’t take Sunny going AWOL well, despite what majority of Awakened would say, everyone there knew Sunny was the most deadly Master alive, Nephis was woman enough to admit even with her recently revealed Aspect Legacy, she would be hard-pressed to beat him, he always had something up his sleeve to turn the tables.
But them losing their deadliest fighter was secondary, the betrayal that a close friend, who went above and beyond the call of duty to protect them time and time again, would leave so close to the finish line stung, when pressed for answers on why he left Cassie gave a summarised version of her and Sunny’s conversation.
‘He just wanted to be free… and I gave him back the choice I took from him.’
Kai was somber looking off into the distance remembering something, Jet just had look of disappointment and understanding, Mordret didn’t show any other reaction beside mild annoyance but his comments on being proud of Sunny’s willingness to pursue his self interests earned him glares which flowed over him like water on stone and Effie surprisingly didn’t fly into a rage, but her cold anger might have been worse.
It was understandable, Sunny leaving like this in a way wasn’t just a betrayal to everyone but a betrayal to the life currently in Effie’s locket.
Nephis didn’t let her emotions show, but the pit of self-loathing and guilt in her stomach that had appeared ever since the final moments in Twilight twisted even more when she realised why he had left and who he wanted to be free from.
The idea that Sunny wouldn’t be beholden to her will anymore should have made her ecstatic, if it succeeded than Sunny would finally and properly be on equal footing with Nephis, no more land mines when they speak, no awkwardness they desperately tried to ignore, no need to constantly watch her words, they could be honest with each other, arm in arm facing the future.
Together.
But while she was secretly happy at this chance even with the burn of betrayal, it was overpowered by a large shadow of dread, Nephis knew that one day in the future the Shadow Bond would have to be dealt with, she just didn’t think it would be so soon, and the reality that Sunny would never just be a thought anyway anymore was something that she struggled to accept.
So Changing Star retreated into the familiar pain of her Flaw, like she always did when she needed to focus, it was agonising but it gave her direction.
Losing Sunny was a serious blow to their firepower, but they were still the 6 most powerful Masters alive, they would succeed with or without him.
Everyone —beside Mordret— agreed they would have their moment with Sunny after they win, the thought of him dying wasn’t even a question in their minds, just like he had faith they would win, they would have faith he would come back.
Changing Star rallied the cohort, sped up their plans and besieged Verge with everything they had, putting the city of corruption to rest in a conflagration of burning white flame without a single casualty.
Now here she stands, within the confines of the Spell as it listed her achievements in the same mocking voice and Nephis only listening to it with half an ear, worrying about Sunny’s survival and wishing in her heart that they could finally move past the Shadow Bond.
That they could finally reveal their feelings to each other.
Finally finishing its assessment, the Spell spoke once more, marking the end of her long nightmare.
[The Fourth Seal is broken.]
[Awakening dormant powers…]
***
Nephis opened her eyes, her body sprawled on the ground, there was a weight on her chest, it was dark but this one was not as oppressive as the Spell’s or the Dark Sea and more of the mundane kind, easily broken by her Ascended sight.
No… her Transcendent sight.
The room she found herself in was ruined beyond repair, a far cry to the elegance it once had housing a princess of Valor, she did not know how much time had past in the real world due to the esoteric physics within the Tomb of Ariel, but looking around she could tell it had not been long, the room lacked the general decay born from time.
Changing Star stood up to her full height, easily shrugging off the broken debris, blasting off of her with a mighty clap, she closed her eyes and gripped her fists, reveling in the power of a Transcendent Titan and summoned the Starlight Legion armour to protect her modesty.
She opened her eyes and from them a brilliant white inferno bursted forth, engulfing her form as it rocketed upwards towards the surface, eager to finally feel the real sun on her face, not caring of any damages to herself or the area as she fully unleashed her Transcendent form.
The Valour compound was clearly already destroyed, so a little more collateral damage wouldn’t matter much.
The ground exploded out into a pillar of ferocious white fire, breaking past the greater barriers and into the embrace of the Waking World, Nephis exited the pillar of flames like a butterfly leaving a cocoon, gorgeous white wings extending behind her as her body reconstituted itself from the flames like an angel of flames, she hung in the air for a moment exulting in the pleasure of being a Saint and mentally grimacing at the pain of the flames that gave her strength.
But even with the agony, it could not restrain the pure joy in her soul, not the broken houses and streets that surrounded her, the columns of smoke that rose into the sky like dying twigs and grey clouds that hid the sun couldn’t dampen her mood.
The journey was tough but she was one step closer to fulfilling her revenge and with five of the most powerful Saints by her side —she had no doubt about that— it finally seemed that she found the light at the other end of the tunnel.
Nephis was on top of the world.
Despite the intensity of emotions she was feeling her face was as stoic as ever, she returned to her human form as she landed on the slope of a large crater, Cassie and Sunny were also anchored within the compound, she wanted to try and get her bearings so she knew where to look.
And speak of the devil…
Nephis’ newly evolved senses perked as they picked up movement at the other side of the crater, there was anticipation and dread as Nephis looked over at the rising shadows taking shape into the person who knew her best in two worlds.
But just as she opened her mouth to speak, her brain short-circuited for a moment.
Sunny was… hot.
Not to say that he was ugly previously, regardless of the insecurities she knew that he held about his appearance, but his current appearance blew his previous one out of the water,
The dirt on his face did little to hide his new beauty. His face was much more angular, losing the last vestiges of youth, he wasn’t taller but his body was much more robust even at a distance, his hair looked like freshly spun black silk and his skin had somehow become even more smooth, much to her hidden envy.
Nephis finally realised he was staring at her as well, and she flushed a bit at his obvious staring, although there was something… off in the way he looked at her, Sunny didn’t just stare at her but was also observing the entire area.
He looked lost for some reason.
Pushing those thoughts aside, she began to approach him with an awkward smile on her face.
Nephis wouldn’t act as if she wasn’t hurt by what he did, but that didn’t matter, he was here now and from what she could tell no longer under the Shadow Bond, they could work through what happened later, it was a fresh start for the both of them and she wanted to start it off right.
But just as she opened her mouth to speak, a cold and calm voice broke through the silence.
“Stop.”
Sunny took a step back, a small frown on his face and Nephis froze, stunned.
‘What?’
Nephis stared at Sunny, her smile slipping from her face, now that she was closer she was able to get a real look into his eyes as they stared at her, and what she saw made her feel cold.
There was no warmth, no fondness and no hidden longing that she had seen so many times before, just cold calculation at staring at a potentially dangerous stranger.
“Who are you?”
There wasn’t a hint of recognition in his voice.
Nephis paused for a second to marshal her thoughts, and staving off the panic that was creeping onto her mind, she spoke. “Sunny, It’s me… Nephis.” He didn’t react to her name. “I don’t know what you're doing but this isn’t really a funny joke.”
She tried to add a bit of levity to her voice to lighten the mood, but the frown Sunny had only grew, he suddenly gripped his head and his expression turned into a grimace.
For a moment it felt as if the world froze, Nephis brain was moving faster than she ever thought it could, trying and failing to comprehend the scene in front of her, was he joking? She knew that Sunny had a viscous sense of humour when he was particularly unhappy, did she do something?
“Sunny, Sunny… Who is that? Is- Is that me?” His voice was low and his eyes were hazy, Nephis could hear the deep loss in his voice, as if something extremely precious was taken away from him and his words made her stomach drop.
‘Oh no…’
Nephis again tried to approach him, but he immediately backed away from her, his eyes immediately flooded with caution and a pitch black odachi manifested into his hands from the shadows, pointing right at her neck.
“Stay back!” Sunny snarled, his body tense and ready to burst with violence at a feather drop, killing intent aimed right at her, Nephis froze for a moment, horrified at the idea that Sunny would genuinely try and kill her but soldiered on.
“Sunny, listen, you know me, I’m Nephis, Changing Star of the Immortal Flame, you— you are going to be ok,” He had to be ok, she slowly approached hands out to try and pacify him, like approaching a wounded animal. “Just let me come closer to you, I'm a healer, I’m sure that I can—“
“I said stay BACK!” His voice cracked less fury, more desperation. The caution in his eyes sharpened into raw hostility, like a switch had been flipped.
“Stay there or else you’ll find yourself acquainted with the front end of my sword…. just… just let me think.” He punctuated his statement by swinging his odachi wildly, miniature gusts following each swing.
Frozen, Nephis didn’t know what to do, Sunny had never pointed his killing intent towards her, even in the battle of the Spire, where they both painted each others swords with their blood, they never truly tried to kill one another, the idea that Sunny would genuinely try and murder her sounded like a cruel joke.
The joke was here and she wasn’t laughing, he stared at her as if she was an enemy. Seeing such hostility pointed at her, from Sunny of all people made her heart ache in a way she never thought possible, this wasn’t real, it couldn’t be.
Even the way he held his weapon made her cringe internally, it looked as if his body was clashing with the instincts and experience from multiple warriors, subtly shifting from one form to another, but his usual elusiveness was gone, a tattered memory compared to what was in front of her.
She knew how deadly his Shadow Dance was, not only on its victims but also on the user's mind.
‘Oh gods, Sunny, what did you do? What did you do!?’ The panic and despair she pushed aside earlier was threatening to overtake her, the question rang in her head like an unceasing gong, but she already knew what he did.
Sunny set himself free.
Free from his memories.
Free from the traumas that shackled him.
Free from his worries of the future.
Free from his dreams.
Free from his friends.
Free from the Bond that dictated such a large part of his life
And worst of all, he was free from Nephis.
Nephis looked at the shell of the man who used to know her best in two worlds, face painted in sorrow as she watched him struggle with himself, his left hand still pointed the odachi at her while his right clutched his head like it was something valuable, muttering to himself as his gaze alternated from caution, loss, coldness and despair.
“Dammit! Why can’t I remember anything!” Sunny swung the odachi around himself, with barely a hint of coordination or balance, he darted his gaze at Nephis, his expression filling with madness. “Did you do this to me? Is that why you’re trying to touch me? To get closer? Answer me!”
“No, No! I didn’t! Sunny please, just listen to me, you aren’t well, I promise you can trust me!” Nephis’ voice was rising more as she spoke, trying desperately to not break into hysterics. “And I know you! Your Sunless, Lord Mongrel, the Devil of Antarctica and— and the person I trust the most to have my back, just calm down and I promise I can explain everything!”
Each name she spoke made Sunny stagger, like a siege ram hitting a fortress wall, he moaned pitifully, bending down to clutch his head even harder with his hand, Nephis could see a desperation in his eyes, a flicker of recognition and she almost broke into a smile when she thought that he might actually be remembering who he was.
But then the moment passed, like autumn leaves to the wind.
“Ugh, My head! What’s going on? What are you doing to me!?” The shadows in the area continued to writhe, getting deeper and darker reflecting Sunny’s own agitation.
“I’m not doing anything Sunny, I would never hurt you…” she half-sobbed the last part biting at her tongue at the lie, she had hurt him multiple times and she knew it.
And if sensing that lie Sunny removed his hand and stared at her.
“You’re lying,” he whispered “I don’t know how but you are, I- I can’t trust you.”
Like a death knell, Nephis felt her heart shatter at his words.
The world held its breath as a star and its shadow stared at each other, one in bottomless grief and the other in a deep pain that it could not recognise within itself, lost to the memories of another man.
Sunny stared at her, and although he did not make any overt movements she could tell that he was about to leave, even before he became a Saint, Sunny’s maneuverability was high, if he Shadow Stepped now, then Nephis would lose all hope of ever seeing him again.
So she made one last desperate gamble.
“Lost from Light…”
The shadows froze.
For a heartbeat the world forgot to turn.
“Lost from Light… Please… Don’t go…” Her words were barely a whisper, but she was sure he heard it. Nephis promised to never order him again, but right now if it meant losing him forever she couldn’t care less.
But even with him hearing his True Name, even though he froze, she could tell it wasn’t due to her will, she couldn’t feel the same elusive yet grand connection that formed when she first pronounced his name, that bond that connected them through space, time and the strings of fate itself, guaranteeing that no matter where they went, or wherever the world would take them they would always be together.
Was gone.
Myriad emotions flew past Sunny’s face, betrayal, anger, sadness, longing and so much more, but just as fast as they came, they disappeared, leaving his face a blank hollow canvas.
Then silently, the shadows enveloped him and he was gone, like he never even existed.
“…”
Nephis stood in the crater, alone, silence ruled like an ever present abyss only broken by the distant sound of raining swords and the screams of slaughtered Nightmare Creatures.
Without warning Nephis collapsed onto her knees, staring at where Sunny had just disappeared, hoping beyond hope that he would come back, that he would reveal that this was all just some long drawn out cruel joke, she would hate him for it, but he would be here.
He would be here.
She would fume over his malicious sense of humour for a time, maybe even give him the silent treatment to make sure he never does something like that again, they would find Cassie, the rest of the cohort and then save as many people in Antarctica as they can.
There would be resentment over what Sunny did, but they would know that he didn’t do it out of malice and eventually they would forgive him, it would be left behind as a dark chapter in their life that they looked back on, maybe even using it to tease him occasionally.
Sunny and Nephis could then start working together in their plans to properly take down the Sovereigns, back to back making sure that the other knew that they had their back. Nephis didn’t know who would confess first but they would, embracing each other as they finally revealed what couldn’t be revealed before due to circumstances out of their control, walking towards the future their hearts fully bared.
Together.
Something warm traced down her cheeks, Nephis was confused, it took her a moment to realise she was crying.
‘…Oh.’ It was a bit of a novelty, it’s been so long since she cried. Nephis thought that she buried that part of herself in her childhood, she couldn’t afford to show weakness when assassins were at every corner, she had to be strong.
Yet she couldn’t really bring herself to care right now, Sunny was gone and she didn’t know if she would ever see him again.
‘Sunny’s gone.’
Nephis tried to choke back a whine at that thought, her vision was getting blurry, every breath she took was like daggers in her throat and even though she knew it wasn’t the case it felt as if her very heart was being torn apart every second.
He was alive, but the man once known as Sunless, Lord Mongrel, the Devil of Antarctica, the brother to Rain, the friend to Kai and Effie, the trusted ally of Soul Reaper Jet, the surrogate brother to Cassie, the enemy to Mordret, her partner in more ways than one…
The slave who was once called Lost from Light was gone.
He was free.
And then.
The dam broke.
For the first time in over a decade, Nephis, Changing Star of the Immortal Flame, broke down, letting free a wrenchful sob from her throat as she grieved for the only man she ever loved.