Nephis stood silent, her expression as still and unreadable as ever. Only her eyes betrayed a flicker of movement, narrowing slightly as if she were dissecting his every word.
Her gaze lingered on him, sharp and unblinking, like the edge of a blade testing for weakness.
For a long moment, she said nothing. Then, at last, her lips parted.
"You speak of things beyond your reach. If you truly know nothing like you claim, then you are a fool. If you know more than you claim… then you are dangerous.
I don't care which. But understand this, Yoru. If you continue to speak those names, you will die…either by my hand or another's."
Her silver eyes never wavered, and the pale flames within them danced along with the intensity of her statement.
'Scary!'
Yoru would be lying to himself if he said he wasn't scared of Changing Star's words, but oddly, he also felt a strange sense of pride. Who else could invoke this much paranoia out of Nephis of the immortal flame?
He truly was a divine miracle!
Yoru scoffed and flashed another grin.
"Thanks for the warning, I guess? Though I'm flattered to be regarded as such a fearsome individual by someone like yourself, Changing Star - I'm not the one you need to look out for."
Nephis frowned.
Yoru's smile slowly disappeared and his jovial tone grew carefully serious.
"The one you should be wary of…is Caster"
"Caster?" she repeated, voice calm, devoid of any visible reaction.
"Yes." Yoru pressed on, lowering his voice. "Don't you find his behaviour a tad strange? On the surface he presents himself as an upstanding legacy with seemingly no flaws. Helpful to all, polite and no doubt noble. I may be a bit of a pessimist but i don't buy it, no one is truly that perfect. Only people with bad intentions are capable of appearing so flawless. In the outskirts you don't run into people like that often - if at all, but if you do…it's an act."
"But that doesn't explain why you suspect him of wanting to kill me?" Nephis voiced, seemingly fearless.
Yoru opened his mouth. "Because I can hear his wish. It's about proving himself to his clan, and - "
"-to kill her?"
The voice didn't belong to Nephis.
Yoru's blood froze.
From behind a column, a tall figure stepped out of the gloom, his steps measured, sporting tanned skin and a head of brown hair, his green eyes glinting faintly in the dim light.
Caster.
His smile was as gentle as ever… except now, it felt wrong. Stretched. Amused.
It made Yoru sick.
"I confess, Yoru, I did not expect such… creativity from you," he said lightly, as though praising a child for a clever trick. "Accusing me, of all people? Before Lady Nephis, no less? Bold."
He gave a shallow bow to Nephis, posture perfect, voice silken. "Forgive the intrusion, Lady Nephis. I merely happened upon this… fascinating conversation. Imagine my surprise when I heard my name spoken with such venom."
Caster wore his usual gentle smile and slightly shook his head, continuing:
"I have no desire to see you harmed, Lady Nephis. On the contrary, you are a peer I deeply respect. To suggest otherwise..." Caster faintly sighed, "...Is regrettable."
Yoru's mind raced. 'Bloodydamn, this is just my luck! Why is he here? Has he been listening the entire time? Damn it, am I fated?!'
Forcing a grin that couldn't quite reach his eyes, Yoru spoke:
"I'm glad you could make an appearance, oh mighty Scion of Han-LI. Mind explaining why you were standing in the shadows like a creep? "Happening" upon us doesn't sound very convincing."
Caster smiled sheepishly.
"Well... apologies if this offends you, but the entire academy calls you strange and a corpse. With such a reputation, I couldn't leave Lady Nephis in your company in good conscious." Caster turned to Nephis and quickly added in earnest, "Of course, not because I doubted your capabilities. Only… I thought it necessary to be near, just in case."
'What kind of freak does this damned academy take me for?! What could I have possibly done to gain such a reputation?' , Yoru thought in outrage.
He was a weirdo and everything said about him was justified, but that didn't mean he had to accept it.
Clearing his throat, Yoru replied:
"Well I'm glad you're here. It would be a dishonour to accuse you without you being present."
"Yes, that claim of yours... " Caster said softly "...I have to deny it."
Of course he would. The noble brat wasn't about to let himself be so easily revealed.
Yoru's lips curled in a grin that was too sharp to be genuine.
"So I'm a liar?"
Caster shook his head gently. "I do not accuse you. Perhaps you truly believe what you say. But if so, you've been deceived by your own strange ability. Hearing a fragment of thought…The academy deemed you as one of the most likely to perish in the dream realm, after all. The stress and fear of the approaching Winter Solstice may be leading you to... misinterpret it..."
Yoru's grin widened, bitter. "Convenient excuse. Then how do I know your wish is to prove yourself? Or Nephis's desire to destroy the Spell? Am I wrong about those too?"
"Enough."
It was Nephis who had spoken out. Her tone was quiet but sharp enough to cut through the tension. Her calm eyes shifted between Yoru and Caster. Whatever thoughts she held concerning the two were sealed behind an impenetrable mask.
"It doesn't matter who plots against me. Neither of you will succeed." She said simply and walked past them without pause.
Caster gave Nephis' retreating figure another infuriatingly flawless bow.
"Lady Nephis. If troubles gather, I shall be pleased to lend my aid."
Only once she had vanished did he straighten. His green eyes lingered on Yoru for a heartbeat longer, unreadable. Then, with the same calm composure, he departed as well.
Yoru exhaled hard and let himself collapse to the stone floor, covering his face with his palms.
"Ha... that went well."
But unbeknownst to the three, hidden in one of the dark corners of the courtyard, was a fourth presence. A shadow. One Who had watched the entire exchange.
****
'Da-damnation! What did I just watch!?'
Pacing his dorm, Sunny was trying his hardest to calm down and reign in his thoughts, but the flood of revelations he had witnessed was too much. His mind wouldn't stop racing.
Sunny had been doing his usual routine - sending his shadow around the academy to spy. His shadow happened to notice Yoru tailing Nephis out of the combat class and from there, he gleamed knowledge that he shouldn't have came into contact with.
There were omnipotent beings called the Sovereigns who Nephis wished to kill. She also wanted to destroy the Nightmare Spell - whatever the hell that meant. Caster was a damned assassin! And Yoru… Yoru was either a fool who didn't value his own life or something worse. Oh! And he could also hear people's deepest wishes. Perfect.
Sunny had to break it down piece-by-piece, just to keep his head from splitting.
'Firstly…Yoru's ability let's him hear wishes. He heard Nephis' and Caster's and that's basically what set off the whole mess…I wonder if he could hear my wish? What even is my wish?'
Probably a nice big house where he could eat as much real meat as he wanted. And maybe if fate wasn't cruel, a way to get his little sister to live with him.
'Secondly, Yoru thinks Caster is an assassin sent after Nephis. But who would want Nephis dead? An opposing faction of the Immortal Flame? Not that there's much to oppose... Nephis is the only one left after all.'
'…No, wait. That doesn't make sense.'
Sunny froze. His stomach turned cold.
'If Nephis is the last of her clan, then killing her wouldn't just be an attack. It would be annihilation. Someone doesn't want her alive. Why? What possible benefit is there in erasing an entire legacy clan?'
He bit his lip, almost hard enough to draw blood.
'Do those "Sovereigns" have something to do with it?'
It was true Nephis wanted to kill them, but she had also warned Yoru never to speak their names again. That wasn't bravado. That was fear. So what kind of monsters could terrify the Princess of the Immortal Flame?
Sunny rubbed his face with both hands and let out a hollow laugh.
"If Nephis is afraid of them…then what am I supposed to feel?"
Sunny quickly realised that he should probably heed Changing Star's advice. He would forget the existence of the Sovereigns - for his own mental health - and focus on things that he could actually handle and prepare for, such as the Winter Solstice.
"I swear, if I don't die in the dream realm I'll get stabbed in my sleep by one of these freaks."
At his feet, his shadow nodded solemnly, as if in agreement.
"Don't agree with me, bastard! You'll be ensuring that doesn't happen. Keep an eye on those three lunatics."
The shadow saluted smugly - if that was even possible -, then melted into darkness and slithered away like a hunting serpent.
Sunny groaned and rolled over, pulling the blanket over his head.
"They're crazy… all of them. Why can't I ever just meet normal people?"
Eventually, sleep claimed him, but not peace.