At that moment, they waited at the edge of the maze path that led directly to the giant statue of the headless knight. Between them and the statue was a group of scavengers passing slowly by.
The sun was setting, but they still had time.
The minutes passed slowly. At some point, Nephis gave the order to move forward.
Helping Cassie, Sunny followed the **Changing Star** and quickly crossed the open space between the maze and the statue. Now they just had to climb to the top.
However, it wasn't that easy. Climbing the two-hundred-meter-high monument would have been difficult under normal circumstances, but now they also had to get Cassie up somehow. Leaving her behind until they reached the top would not have been safe.
In the end, Nephis and Sunny took turns pulling the rope every twenty meters or so. Cassie clung to the rocks and waited for them to climb up, and then they repeated the process. It was slow and tortuous, and by the end, Sunny's muscles were sore and almost on fire.
But they managed to get to safety before the dark waters swept them away.
As night fell, the three Sleepers sat in the center of the circular stone platform and rested. Since they hadn't brought anything to make a fire and it was too late, they couldn't cook. They ended up chewing on strips of dried meat and passing around the bottle of unlimited water.
XXX
After coming to an agreement, Sunny convinced Nephis to teach him how to fight. There he was now, at night, the second night after forming a team.
He lay down on the cold stone, staring into the darkness and thinking. His mind was replaying everything Nephis had taught him not long ago, until his eyes caught something that caught his attention.
He saw Cassie move in her sleep.
"How cute," he thought.
He cared about Cassie, he admitted it.
It was also the second night they had slept apart, which should have been normal, but he was uncomfortable thinking about their experiences just a few nights ago, when they were truly inseparable.
Their relationship hadn't changed since Nephis arrived, but now he was reluctant to show the trust he had shown her. He would be lying if he said that deep down he felt safer when they were alone together.
"What am I thinking?" he sighed softly.
He shook the thoughts from his mind and prepared to go back to sleep.
The last thing he saw before closing his eyes was a mane of blonde hair.
XXX
...Early in the morning, he was awakened by a piercing scream.
Sunny was on his feet before he was even fully awake. Somehow, his **Blue Sword** was already in his hand.
He recognized the voice instantly, and a chill filled him. He saw Cassie and instantly leaped toward her.
His shadow floated beside him, ready to wrap around the sword in case he needed to attack or to surround her body if it was already too late for that.
The blind girl stumbled at the edge of the platform with a look of horror on her face. Her blonde hair was tousled, and she reached out her hands, clearly lost in space. Of course, there were no walls to grab onto. The platform was open, and the only thing waiting for Cassie was a fall into the dark, turbulent waters...
He caught Cassie just before she stepped off the platform and, holding her tightly in his arms, dragged the blind girl back.
"I've got her!" Sunny shouted, signaling to the Changing Star that she didn't need to stab him. Then, in a low voice, he said to Cassie:
"I've got you. It's okay. Everything's fine. Calm down..."
His chest was pounding and his hands were shaking from the scare. He hugged her almost reflexively.
"It's me, listen to me, please, it's okay."
He glanced down quickly, checking for injuries, but she didn't even have torn clothes or traces of blood.
The trembling girl managed to say, "S-Sunny?"
Immediately, the girl grabbed him tightly and began to cry inconsolably.
He held her in his arms, pressing her close to his chest. He felt lost and confused, not understanding what was happening, but he was still terrified to see Cassie like this.
He turned to look at Nephis, a few steps away from him.
"What happened? Is she hurt?" she said seriously, just as confused as he was.
He shook his head. "There are no injuries."
Her crying seemed to never end. Her broken voice hurt his chest, forming a deep hole the more she cried. He broke out in a cold sweat. He stroked her back as he held her tightly. His hand was shaking, but he tried hard not to let her notice.
As the minutes passed, her crying gradually subsided, but her grip did not loosen. She clung to him as if he were about to vanish.
"It doesn't look like she's going to let go anytime soon."
"I'll keep watch, then."
Nephis turned away, giving them space for the two of them.
His nerves gradually calmed down, but he was still tense. He tried to pull away from her a little to see if he could speak, but she instantly closed the gap and clung to him even tighter, trembling again.
This time she said in a trembling voice, "D-don't leave me... Please don't leave me," she said, her voice breaking, threatening to burst into tears again.
"Sunny, please don't leave me."
"I love you."
His heart stopped, his breathing too. Another wave of nerves hit him hard.
"Uh?" escaped from his mouth.
His mind was blank, completely blank, and he couldn't form a single word. His chest began to pound, and for the second time that day, he broke out in a cold sweat.
Looking toward the horizon and gathering his courage, he managed to say, "C-Cass..."
He was about to say her name when he realized she had fallen asleep in his arms. He saw her breathing slow to a steady rhythm and her muscles relax.
He let out a long, shaky sigh.
"What the hell have I gotten myself into?"
XXX
At least an hour or two passed as the sun rose and the rough sea receded.
He didn't let go of her the whole time, nor did he think about doing so, even though his muscles ached. In fact, he even relaxed, so much so that he almost fell asleep himself.
Nephis glanced over at Cassie from time to time to see if she was ready to talk, but they both came to the conclusion that it must have been a vision, and not a very encouraging one at that, which worried him.
He felt movement in his arms; she was waking up.
He felt embarrassed when he looked at her, but he plucked up his courage and dispelled the embarrassment; this was not the time. Releasing one arm from his embrace, he moved the hair covering Cassie's face with his hand, tucking it behind her ear. There he saw her blue eyes bloodshot and the edges of her eyes swollen.
"Cassie? Are you feeling better?"
A few seconds later, the blind girl nodded slowly, still resting on his chest.
What a relief. They separated and he gave her space to sit up.
Cassie didn't look very well. Her face was still very pale, with a distant and dazed expression. At least her body wasn't shaking anymore. Sunny wasn't very good at talking to people, let alone reassuring them. He didn't really know what to say.
He looked at Nephis, who was approaching them when she noticed them, and sighed inwardly. Who would have thought that one day he would become the most sociable person for miles around? How ironic...
He took the blind girl's hand, getting her attention.
"What happened?"
"...I think I had a vision, or maybe a nightmare."
Sunny and Nephis exchanged glances. They both doubted that what Cassie had seen was just a simple nightmare. After all, people didn't usually dream in the Dream Realm. Meanwhile, the blind girl continued:
"I don't remember very well. It's just fragments."
Sunny chose his words carefully, not wanting to pressure Cassie too much.
"Just tell us what you remember. Maybe together we can make sense of it."
He saw Cassie's other hand move timidly toward him. He took it.
Cassie sighed and nodded hesitantly. After a long pause, she finally found the courage to speak:
"At first, I saw an... an endless darkness enclosed behind seven seals. Something huge was stirring in the darkness. I felt that if I looked directly at it, I would lose my mind. As I watched in terror, the seals broke one after another, until only one remained. And then that seal broke too."
She trembled a little.
"After that... I don't know. It was as if my mind shattered into a thousand pieces, each reflecting its own image. Most of them were dark and terrifying. Some I've already forgotten. The others..."
Cassie fell silent, remembering.
"I saw the human castle again. Only this time it was night. There was a lone star shining in the black sky, and in its light, the castle was suddenly engulfed in flames, with rivers of blood flowing through its corridors. I saw a corpse in golden armor sitting on a throne; a woman with a bronze spear drowning in a tide of monsters; an archer trying to pierce the collapsing sky with his arrows."
Finally, she looked up, her face filled with horror.
"At the end, I saw a colossal, terrifying crimson spire. At its base, seven severed heads guarded seven bolts. And at the top, an... an angel advancing, leaving behind a dying shadow. Suddenly, I felt as if... as if something so precious had been taken from me that it cannot be described in words."
His voice grew lower.
"Then I felt so much pain, so much sorrow, and so much anger that what little sanity I had left seemed to disappear. That's when I woke up... I think."
Her hands trembled in his.
XXX
I stayed alone for a moment. Sunny and Nephis agreed; it wasn't far, but I needed to breathe before continuing with the day.
The vision still haunted me, especially the last part. The pain it caused was unbearable. My family, school, and all those moments of happiness before I was infected by the nightmare spell were treasures, something irreplaceable. That happiness was taken from me, thrown into a cruel and desolate fate.
Thinking about my happiness led me to him, to Sunny. He is everything to me right now. Since he came into my life, he has lit it up. He is all I have, the closest thing to a family. He is like all those beautiful memories, maybe even more. My infatuation was premature, perhaps, but I have many reasons to feel this way.
When he touches my hair and caresses me, I feel a warmth I didn't know I longed for. His voice is somber, but it gives me the security that parents give their children: that nothing will happen to me and that I am protected. His fingers, when he takes my hand, are cold but soft. They guide me, and it's as if I can see again and walk with confidence. They fill me with confidence and peace of mind.
Every time we walk together, he turns to look at me, to see if I'm okay.
When we get out of here, I have no doubt that we'll be happy together. We won't have to try too hard to make it work. The house my parents left me is there, so we won't have to worry about money for a while. Plus, as an Awakened, I'll have several job opportunities if we start a life together... We could be happy.
Maybe he doesn't want a relationship with me right now...
I'm aware of his emotional shortcomings; he grew up without a home or affection, so it will be difficult for him to open up emotionally with me. I know he has a hard time acknowledging his feelings and trusting others, and that he can be cynical at times... But I love him just the way he is. I don't know what he's like, but I don't care. Sunny is Sunny, and that's enough.
He's my hero, and even if I told him, he'd deny it. I know that. Maybe... someday, when we get to know each other better, spend more time together, and grow together... we could start a family.
That... is my dream right now: to get out of here and be happy. And that's why I feel so helpless. Because I saw that fate was going to take everything away from me again, destroying everything I have for the second time.
I lied to both of them; I knew what I had seen. I still had to process it all, and there were things that didn't add up, and I had to think it through calmly. But what I saw destroyed me.
I swore I would move heaven and earth to change that fate. I would crawl over broken glass, clinging to the slightest chance of saving him. I cried because, despite my deep desire, I didn't have the strength to make it happen. I was just a blind, lost girl.
But even so, I won't give up. I will break that fate and be happy.