In the lightless storm of the forgotten shores, a radiant being was born, and with it came light. Pure, radiant flames flared out, illuminating the heavy darkness. The new being did not know who it was, what it was. It simply existed.
Glancing down at itself, it could see charred flesh.
'So… This is my body.' It thought.
'I am burned? Yes. Why do I feel pain? Ah, yes, I am supposed to feel pain for being burned.' The newborn angel wondered to itself.
It took a look at the other hand, holding a pure azure blade.
'This is a sword?' The radiant being wondered again, vaguely remembering its past.
'Ah, yes… I know how to use the sword.' It looked up, her gaze finding a three-meter-tall monster fighting a frail young man.
'That is my enemy?' it wondered again, not remembering who it really was. Was the monster its enemy? Yes… It had to kill that thing. Why? The angel did not know. It just remembered, remembered that it wanted to kill that thing very much.
Looking at the other man's figure, a numb feeling rose in his heart. Faint, almost like a whisper. Who was that man to it? It also did not remember. It just knew that it could not let him die.
Whose memories were these, whose emotions? It still did not know. The angel felt that they were very important, though. So it took its first step, getting closer to its enemy.
The angel's feet felt as heavy as the heaviest thing in the world. It felt like there was something churning beyond its own flesh. It felt like a numb, burning sensation. But it did not stop. It took another step, white flames dancing on its skin, mending the charred flesh.
It still hurt. It faintly felt like it was burning alive, just beyond its mind. That never stopped the radiant being, though. It took more and more steps, getting used to its new existence.
It looked down at its skin again, it was no longer burnt, instead it was now perfect alabaster. But the angel still burned.
That did not matter, though. The angel never stopped advancing. It was just pain, after all. By the time it got used to its new existence, the young man fighting its enemy had already lost and passed out. The angel caught him in its hands.
What was it supposed to do now? The man it… No, the being before itself, cared about was wounded and bleeding. If it remained like this, he would die. The angel did not feel anything, but it still wanted to do something. What could it do?
'…Can I heal? Yes, I can heal, I remember now…' The flaming being recalled one of its abilities, extending its flames to the man it should have cared about. It felt nothing. The wounded human started healing.
Was it supposed to feel joy? Relief? It still did not know. It did not care, either. When he was fully healed, it threw the man away. Should it have been more gentle? Why? It did not care about him? Why did it heal him, though? There were so many questions, but no answers.
It cast its gaze on the monster towering over it. Was it supposed to be scared? What was fear?
'Does it matter?' It asked itself.
'No, it does not.' It answered itself quickly after.
'Ah… but I want to kill that thing.' It realized.
'What is wanting?' It asked itself.
'I don't know… it does not matter.' The answer came. That thing wanted it dead, so it had to die. The only thing the angel remembered was that if the monster did not die, it would.
The newborn raised its sword, and with it came even more flames. The white fire was sharp. It looked sharp enough to cut fate itself. Perhaps that was their purpose. Next moment, the angel and its enemy met.
The clash was fierce, but the newborn was stronger. Did it have a stronger body? No. Did it have stronger armor? No. So why was it stronger? It did not know. It just swung its blade again and again.
Muscle and tendon broke apart as the angel displayed the full might of its strength. White flame flared right after, weaving it back together. Was that supposed to hurt? The being felt like it should, but another pain, a pain so much more powerful, was assaulting it.
It was just pain, though. So the battle continued. The two monsters fought again and again, clashing. The angel felt like it could not continue for much longer. Why? Something… something about fire attracting something much more dangerous. Did it care? It did not know.
It would not have to flare its light much longer anyway. The radiant being leaped upwards and took hold of the blade lodged inside the monster. As soon as it did that, more flames were born. They were white and radiant. It covered the angel's new… or rather its old blade.
Soon after, the monster was consumed by its desire.
[You have slain an Awakened Monster, Carapace Centurion.]
[You have received a memory —Starlight Legion Armor.]
An unknown voice rang in its head. The newborn still knew nothing about the world, but it had already slain its first enemy. What was it supposed to do now? The flames covering it started dying down, slowly returning darkness to the illuminated island. Is there something I have to do? West. I have to go west. Why? It remembered now. Aster, Song, Vale. It remembered these words. Another numb feeling rose in her. What was the feeling? It did not know. What did it feel like? It did not know either. All it knew was that the feeling, it burned. It burned hotter than the being itself did.
It dismissed its own flames entirely. The angel was no longer an angel. It did not burn anymore either, but the feeling that came to consume it. It still burned like a crucible. It still had enemies to kill.
[…Your soul shines brighter.]
[Your soul is overflowing with power.]
[Your soul is taking shape.]
Suddenly, the angel was assaulted with pain. It felt as if its entire being were remade within itself. It felt like its own flesh and bones were changing structure and becoming stronger. It did not scream, though. In fact, it felt nothing. Pain was nothing to it.
When the feeling that was supposed to be excruciating subsided, the angel noticed its new strength. It was much stronger, much faster, much harder. It felt like it was reborn. The angel felt nothing. It only knew that it needed strength. It was good that it had more power now, but it did not bring any new feelings.
It also felt that it needed a name.
'Yes… a name. Don't I have a name?' it wondered. What was its name?
'Was it… Changing Star?' Nephis remembered her name. With it, everything came rushing back. Her memories were hers again. She had remembered.
She still could not feel anything, though. The pain had been too great. It felt as if her radiant flames had burned away her spirit.
She summoned a small flame on her palm. Pain came rushing to her, but she felt like it was nothing now. It felt as if it did not matter. Maybe because it did not anymore.
She dismissed her flame. She felt as if something integral to her was lost… Maybe permanently, but she knew that that could not stop her now. She had become stronger, and she would become much stronger in the future.
As for now, she needed rest.
Changing Star did not feel fatigue. She did not feel anything, but her body was shutting down beyond her will. Maybe if her emotions hadn't been burned away, she would feel annoyed by this. There was something outside her control, and to make it worse, it was her own body, but she could not feel anything, so she did not mind.
She closed her eyes and fell into sleep.
When she opened her eyes, she found the darkness of the forgotten shores had already retreated, being threatened by the radiance of the sun. The dark sea had already returned to whatever hell it came from, and the warm rays of the sun were hitting her bare skin.
She noticed Sunny, who was already fully healed by her yesterday, trying not to glance at her. The angle was bad, but she could faintly see his face colored red. Nephis realized he was embarrassed, but she could not feel those feelings herself. It was almost as if she had forgotten every memory of feeling something. She did not know why he was embarrassed, as well.
"Sunny…"
She spoke faintly. Sunny startled, trying not to look her direction.
"Neph! P-Put something on!"
Nephis's flames had burned all of her clothes away. She knew staying naked would be frowned upon by society, but she could not feel anything herself. Besides, it was not like she had some armor memory…
'Wait? Did the spell not say something about that?' Nephis recalled the last night. Indeed the spell had said something about a memory.
Memory: [Starlight Legion Armor].
Memory Rank: Awakened.
Memory Type: Armor.
Memory Description: [Born in the all-consuming darkness, seven valiant heroes made an oath to return light to the cursed land. Time has erased their names and their faces, but the memory of the defiant oath still remains.]
Nephis did not change her expression. She only commanded her memory to take shape on herself.
Countless radiant sparks danced on her skin as an unknown, black fabric manifested. Covering her body below the neck.
Then a pristine, white plate armor manifested over the fabric. On top of the flexible bodysuit, greaves, vambraces, articulated pauldrons, rerebraces, cuisses, and sabatons manifested. The breastplate that was engraved with seven shining stars appeared to protect the torso. short enough not to restrict mobility.
On her head sets of sparks manifested into a helmet with a white plum. The visor's design was ingenious. It was good enough to protect her eyes, but it was also small enough not to restrict her visibility.
She did not need to wear the helmet, though. She did not need the plate armor, as well. So she simply dismissed all the protective parts, only leaving the skin-tight body suit.
"Is this better?"