The three ate by the dim light of twilight. The meat was juicy, tender, and indescribably delicious. It was better than anything Sunny had ever tasted, even at the Academy cafeteria. In fact, any food would taste better than raw monster meat soaked in blood.
With his back to the campfire, Sunny chewed on his portion of meat. He could feel the comforting warmth of the fire behind him. He had calmed down from the strange state he found himself in after the peculiar sequence of events.
Every now and then, they passed the glass bottle between them.
When they finished eating, the dark sea had returned and night had fallen. Everything was shrouded in absolute darkness. Of course, Sunny could see easily, but since his gaze was focused elsewhere, he could only see the dark sea and little else.
His mind was blank, enjoying in a way this moment of comfort in the chaos that had been today. He even forgot for a moment that he had company, but it didn't last long, as Cassie spoke.
"How about we introduce ourselves formally? I'm Cassie."
"Neph."
Then it was Sunny's turn. He exhaled, glad they hadn't asked him his name directly. He probably would have been able to give his human name, although it would have depended on how the question was phrased.
Relieved, he smiled, even though they couldn't see his face, and replied, "I'm Sunless. But you can call me Sunny."
He paused for a moment, then said, "Since we're going to be depending on each other, should we share the skills and memories we have at our disposal?"
It was a logical suggestion. If they were going to fight side by side, knowing each other's strengths was more or less vital.
He waited for a response from Nephis, which didn't come immediately. Suddenly he felt lost, metaphorically speaking, of course. He felt exposed not being able to see who he was talking to, even though he knew she was right behind him.
*Was this how Cassie always felt? Being at the mercy of the world like this? It was better not to think about it too much.*
So he used his shadow as eyes behind his head, defying his friend's wish to keep Nephis's privacy, but it was for a justifiable reason: he wasn't taking advantage to look at anyone unduly! He just needed the reassurance of seeing what was happening.
"I'll start," Sunny said, both to show his sincerity and to reveal information about himself in a controlled manner.
If he took the initiative to speak, he still had to tell the truth, but how much and to what extent was something he still had to decide. However, if they asked him and he had to answer... things would become unpredictable.
So he manipulated the conversation enough to release just enough information. Cassie also shared her abilities. He hoped Nephis would share what she was capable of, but the question she asked was not what he expected.
Nephis slowly turned her head in his direction and used her hands to cover herself.
"Eh... what?"
Nephis frowned and said in a dry tone, "Are you using that ability right now?"
Sunny blinked, breaking out in a cold sweat.
He took a moment to respond, and his flaw forced him to speak. "Yes."
knew what was coming with every word at that moment.
quickly prepared to speak and explain himself, but an emerging figure lunged at him.
It was Cassie, and she didn't look happy, for reasons that were more than obvious.
She grabbed him from behind, her hands moving quickly up his body, toward his face. He tried to stop her, but he reacted too late. When he felt his skin being pulled hard, Cassie yanked his ear with one hand and his cheek with the other.
"What did I tell you?!" she growled angrily.
"Damn it, that hurts!"
"Stay here and don't turn around!" he screamed in pain.
The response seemed to enrage Cassie even more. "And that gives you an excuse to use your ability and be a peeping Tom?!"
The pain was terrible, not physical, but more spiritual: genuine humiliation.
Somehow he managed to free himself a little from Cassie's fierce and unstoppable scolding. He apologized and justified himself against the degrading accusations.
He clarified the dilemma, saying that he didn't feel safe being so exposed and that he never looked at Nephis that way.
Cassie was aware of his flaw, so she had no choice but to accept what he said, although she still didn't look happy.
Nephis, who was red-faced, turned away to avoid facing the situation.
*Damn it, he ruined the mood...*
Not knowing what to say, he remained silent. Only the sound of water hitting the floor could be heard.
Cassie forced his shadow to look away as well.
He moved his eyes to look at it and it seemed annoyed at being deprived of its freedom.
He sighed mentally and said quietly, "I'm sorry, buddy..."
Nephis' voice broke the uncomfortable silence.
"My attributes... give me an affinity for light and fire, as well as a strong connection to divinity. I have only one memory..."
Surprised that Nephis had resumed the conversation, he listened intently, now blind again.
"...and a sword. The sword is very sharp and can protect its wielder from soul attacks, to a certain extent. My ability... can be used to heal."
*Healing! Healing!* That was what he needed and had longed for since he arrived in this cursed place.
Sunny, however, didn't miss the last part. "Can be used to heal"... did that mean its main purpose was something else? He was pretty sure Nephis wouldn't reveal all her cards, just like him.
He couldn't contain his excitement and relief.
"You're a healer? That's great! We're incredibly lucky to have a healer among us!"
"Could you maybe... you know... heal me?" He wished with all his being that the torment of existing with his battered body would end, especially the damn bite on his leg.
Eagerly, he waited for a positive response, but after a moment she replied:
"...I'll think about it."
*She'll... think about it?*
Sunny cursed his luck.
*Why? Maybe she had screwed up too much... or maybe she hadn't earned her trust? Those were the consequences of getting a bad reputation... There you go, you reap what you sow, I guess.*
Another voice sounded, to his surprise, in his defense.
"Please! You have to heal him. He's been wounded for days, we don't know if he could get an infection soon," he heard Cassie say pleadingly.
He thought she would still be angry. Well, he supposed there were priorities.
"He... since we got here, he's taken care of me!" she said, her voice fragile at first, but sounding confident at the end.
Cassie's reaction surprised him, though mainly because he couldn't read the situation, so with every word that was said, he was completely exposed.
"So... I'm asking you, heal him."
Silence reigned again.
Seconds passed, both of them waiting expectantly.
"I already said I'll think about it. You'll have an answer in the morning."
He heard Cassie sigh.
*Something's something, he supposed...*
It was fine, they couldn't survive as a team if he wasn't in top condition, so it would have to be healed eventually.
But he wished this was over as soon as possible.
"Well, we've shared enough, is it time for bed?" he said.
"Okay. I'll take the first watch."
Sunny decided to be helpful and said, "Actually, my shadow doesn't sleep. It can wake us up if anything happens."
"I'll watch first."
Noticing a slight chill in her voice, Sunny sighed and shrugged.
"Whatever. What are you going to watch for, huh? You can't see anything! Whatever. But don't blame me if something giant swallows us in the middle of the night..."
Then, suddenly, he shuddered.
*Wait... that wasn't a sign of death, was it? Of course not. Impossible...*
XXX
The fire had gone out some time ago.
Sleep eluded Sunny. For a while, he sat silently in the darkness, listening to the soothing murmur of the waves. In that rare moment of respite, memories of the last few days flooded his mind. However, he was too tired to think about anything seriously. He was warm, sated, and relatively safe. For now, that was more than enough.
Next to him was Cassie.
Soon, her breathing changed, indicating that she had fallen asleep. Nephis watched over the camp, motionless and, as always, a little distant.
He decided to turn to look at her. With her silver hair and fair skin, she looked like a statue of alabaster.
He wanted to ask her a few things, but given how events had unfolded... perhaps it was best to leave it for later.
But to his surprise, she called him.
"Sunless... are you awake?"
Nephis braced herself, looked at him, and covered herself with her hands despite having her back to him. *He still couldn't get over the fact that she could clearly see his bare butt and back... he'd better stop thinking about these things, he didn't want to be castrated.*
"I am, what's going on?"
There was no answer. It sent a chill down his spine to think that he had earned the girl's resentment and now she was looking for a place to kill him or do something even more brutal.
"Come closer, I want to ask you a question." She asked the question in a direct, almost authoritative voice.
He suspected an interrogation was coming.
He breathed in and out to calm his nerves and got up from Cassie's side, moving closer to the edge where Nephis was standing.
Out of respect, he sat down near her, but not too close, and looked away, not as exaggeratedly as when Cassie was watching him. He could see her out of the corner of his eye.
He silently appreciated the black sea as he waited for the questions.
"Tell me, Sunless, why are you taking Cassie with you?"
He hadn't expected that question. In his mind, he thought they would clarify things further and leave the awkwardness at a good point.
"Why not? She's my friend."
He saw her stare at him piercingly. It gave him chills.
"And if she weren't, would you have taken her with you?"
Sunny clenched his teeth, feeling the Flaw pushing the honest answer out of his mouth.
"No." He swallowed hard and clenched his fists after answering, nervous.
*This is a minefield...*
He wanted to speak and say anything to improve his answer, but Nephis beat him to it.
"She's a blind girl. Even if she were your friend, given your condition, she's a death flag. You've already witnessed what a burden she is. So if you had to choose who to save in your situation, who would you choose? A sleeper legacy like Caster, or your friend?"
He turned to respond, staring into her eyes that seemed to have a flame burning inside them.
"Cassie, a hundred times over."
She broke their gaze, closing her eyes and letting out a sigh.
She stood up and approached him.
He felt in danger when she raised her hand toward him. He prepared to summon his sword and jump away.
Flames covered his body.
*Shit, I'm burning! Wait, I'm not burning.*
The flames came out of his wounds, closing them in the process.
He looked up to see Nephis, her face contorted in pain.
When his wounds closed completely, she fell to the ground, breathing heavily.
He stood there watching her recover, stunned.
*Did she heal him? Did he give the right answers?*
He waited for her to recover before asking.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes... I just need a moment," she said dejectedly.
When he saw that she was finally able to continue the conversation, he asked:
"I guess I can ask you something too, right?"
She turned her head and nodded. Her eyes seemed to lose some of their sparkle.
"Why did you heal me, and what happened to you?"
"...I confirmed that you're not a murderer, and what happened to me was my flaw..."
Nephis gave him a brief explanation of her past and why assassins were after her. She told him about her flaw and the devastating pain it caused her.
She didn't go into much detail, but he was able to fill in some of the gaps with his imagination, and others not so much.
But hey, he was healed! It seemed like centuries since his body had been healthy, and it was an immense relief that the pain was no longer piercing him every second.
The conversation continued; they exchanged questions, and the previous awkwardness had largely dissipated.
"Do you know the legend of Odysseus?"
XXX
In the morning, Sunny and Nephis were the first to get up. As the sun rose and the sea receded, they lit a fire and began to prepare a simple breakfast.
After his conversation with Nephis, he took his turn on guard duty and made the most of his time. He used the seaweed nearby and what Nephis had stored away, and after a couple of hours into the night, he managed to create some makeshift clothing for her.
It was essentially underwear, or you could call it beachwear if you looked at it that way. He did this to save himself a lot of trouble for the day: having Cassie pinching him or calling his attention and Nephis embarrassed and distracted was not efficient.
Cassie was still asleep. Nephis appreciated Sunny's gesture, but they didn't talk much to each other. It was as if the previous night's conversation had never taken place. However, after a while, they ended up discussing the plan for the next few days. They exchanged ideas and discussed where they were in the Dream Kingdom.
At that moment, Cassie suddenly sat up straight. Her eyes were wide open and her face was a little pale. She looked nervous and excited.
He noticed this and quickly moved closer to her.
"Cassie, what's wrong?"
The blind girl turned in his direction and smiled.
"A... a vision! I had a vision!"
"Like... a prophetic dream?" thought Sunny, trying to come to terms with this new reality that someone could see the future. Or the past.
Meanwhile, the **Changing Star** reached out her hand, as if preparing to summon her sword.
"Are we in danger?"
Cassie shook her head vigorously.
"No, it's not that! People... I saw a castle full of people!"
She smiled and pointed with her finger.
"I don't know how far away it is, but I'm sure it's in that direction!"
Sunny and Nephis looked at each other, not knowing whether to be happy or petrified.
Cassie's small, delicate finger pointed confidently to the west.