After it became apparent that Nephis was notgoing to go on a destructive rampage, the cohort did not get a lot of time to spend with their friend
before the government agents whisked her away.
Cassie barely managed to squeeze her hand, while Effie and Kai could only express their joy with words. Sunny remained silent, still preoccupied with his tumultuous thoughts. The corner he wasstanding in became even darker than it had been before.
Neph herself seemed a bit disoriented, so theirshort reunion had turned out to be somewhat muddled.
There were certain procedures involved when aperson Awakened, and even more once theyAscended. All kinds of interviews, evaluations, and tests had to take place. All kinds of reports had to be submitted, all types of permissions had to be granted, and all varieties of procedures had to be enacted.
The bureaucratic machine stirred awake tolegitimize and integrate a new Master into the larger framework of humanity.
Sunny knew the process well, because he hadgone through it himself. It was just that his own experience had been separated into two distinct instances, and made smoother by Master Jet's participation.
Nephis, on the other hand, had to go through both sets of procedures at once, which was more or less unprecedented. She also did not enjoy the
patronage of a high-ranking governmentrepresentative… yet. Perhaps that would not last long.
There were other complications, as well. Hersituation was unique and abnormal in more than one sense. Just the fact that she had become a
Master without establishing a Gateway anchor inthe Dream Realm alone was enough to make the bureaucracy stutter.
The government agents had their work cut out for them.
…It was not all bad, however. The process, whileslightly obnoxious, was
there for a reason. It was not only about gatheringthe necessary information and officially establishing the Ascended's new and elevated status. It was also designed to help the returned deal with the most damaging effects of suddenly coming back to safety after experiencing untold horrors in the Nightmare, at least to a certaindegree. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦
No matter how strong Changing Star was, no one doubted that her harrowing adventure through theDreaml Realm and the Nightmare had left its scarson her mind. The government was well aware ofhow fragile many powerful Awakened truly were. It was not only on guard against those who could break, but also experienced in employing all kinds of preventative measures to reduce the possibility of that happening.
Due to how important Nephis was both to the propaganda machine and to the actual defensive efforts of humanity as another Special StrategicAsset,
the government threw its best resources intoensuring that the initial steps of her rehabilitation went as smoothly as possible.
Of course, she was free to decide how much exactly she was willing to share. Some basic tests,however, were mandatory, since it was necessaryto determine how safe it was to release her into the population.
What it meant was that it would take long hoursbefore the members of the cohort would be able to see Changing Star again.
They weren't the only ones waiting, too.
At some point, Cassie had left and returned to theDream Realm to inform the Fire Keepers of the incredible new development. Soon enough, dozens
of them used the Gateway in the Ivory Tower andreturned to the waking world for the first time in months.
Since their sleeping pods were situated rightthere in the hospital complex of the Academy, it did not take a long time for all of them to gather in the hallway near where Nephis was undergoing her interviews. Now, around fifty young Awakened crowded it, as if standing guard.
After spending almost half a year in the DreamRealm, the Fire Keepers looked rough around the edges, if not a little feral. They were wearing civilian clothes, but no one would mistake these people for mundane humans, or even ordinary Awakened.
There was a strong sense of silent threat radiating from them. Their expressions were full of glee, but their gazes remained firm and heavy, makinganyone who approached feel ill at ease. That wasespecially true for the members of Cassie's former cohort, which was now led by the stoic
healer, Shim. They were all on high alert and readyto pounce on anyone representing a threat.
With the Fire Keepers standing guard, any potential action by the great clans was bound toend in failure, or at least outright disaster. In fact,they seemed so fierce that even the security teams of the Academy became nervous and sent a few cohorts of their own to keep watch on the celebrating group.
It was easy to read the extreme apprehension onthe faces of the security officers, though.Awakened or not, they seemed to understand that they stood no chance against the elites of theForgotten Shore if push came to shove.
Observing all that, Sunny couldn't help but ask himself a question.
…If six months of hiding in the relative safety ofthe Ivory Tower had such a drastic effect on the Fire Keepers, then what had two years of traversing some of the direst regions of the Dream Realm done to Nephis?
After a while, he quietly approached Cassie and asked quietly:
"How is it going?"
She turned her head slightlyand frowned. "What do you mean?"
Sunny smiled darkly.
"Come on. There's no chance that you did not useyour Ability on one of the government agents handling Neph's processing. So what is happening?"
She hesitated for a few moments, then sighed.
"She seems to be in shock, somewhat. But mostly,she's… fine. Actually, it's a bit disturbing how fine she is."
He frowned.
"Well… it's Nephis. You knowhow she is." Cassie slowly shook her head.
"She is human too, Sunny. It's just easy to forgetthat fact sometimes because of… well, because it's her."
Sunny fell silent, not knowing what to say. After afew moments, the blind girl suddenly spoke again:
"She seems reluctant to speak about most of whathappened to her, but… at least, she agreed to receive psychological counseling. That's a good start."
He blinked a coupleof times. Nephis agreed… to what?
The idea of Changing Star being willing to undergo something like counseling did not fit intohis head. It was just too bizarre to imagine.
Sunny frowned.
'Maybe… maybe she did change, a little.'
Finally, after long hours of waiting, thegovernment agents seemed to finish the bulk of their tests.
The doors opened, and the familiar figure stepped out of them. Just like on the first day Sunny hadmet her, Nephis was wearing a simple government- issued tracksuit. Her silver hair, however, was now long and lustrous, framing her face and making her look strangely feminine.
Her beauty was stunning.
When Changing Star appeared, it seemed asthough the whole hallway became a little brighter.
Looking at the members of her cohort and the FireKeepers gathered around them, Nephis hesitated for a moment, and then smiled awkwardly.
"Hello, everyone. I… I am glad to meet you allagain. I did not think that I would."
...Before she was even done speaking, Cassiestepped forward and enveloped her in a tight hug.