Darkness.
Wet, weightless darkness.
Nyxar floated in a silent black void that rippled like water under him. His body felt lighter than mist, like he didn't even have bones anymore. The only things he could sense were two blurry fading lights — one rose, one blue — drifting slowly in front of him.
He tried to reach a hand out, but his arm moved like it was underwater. And then—
Voices.
A female voice, soft and warm, whispered:
"Honey… how are you?"
A male voice followed, worried and unsure:
"Are you sure this will work?"
Then both together, overlapping like an echo across time:
"We always will stay together."
The colors flickered. The lights dimmed. And before Nyxar could ask anything—
They vanished.
In their place floated the Grimmwar, but its cover… looked different.
Old?
New?
Ancient?
Reborn?
He couldn't tell — the leather shimmered like it couldn't decide if it existed.
The book opened itself.
Nyxar's eyes glowed blue and rose, flooding the void with color—
And then he gasped awake.
His eyes shot open black as ink.
Then blue and rose again.
Then returned to their normal deep crimson red.
He blinked. His head felt fuzzy.
Then he noticed a second sound:
A groan.
Vespera was waking up too, blinking as if she also had just respawned from the shadow realm.
Before either could speak, they heard noise from outside the cottage — frantic footsteps, panicked pacing, and someone breathing like they were on the edge of a meltdown.
They stepped outside.
And instantly froze.
The Most Overreacting Scene in the History of Overreaction
Ember was pacing like a caffeinated hummingbird, hands shaking, muttering, "Oh gods—oh gods—oh gods—" while Spirit tried to calm her down like she was a feral cat about to explode.
Sylas was in the corner almost pulling his hair out, staring at two empty mugs of cold tea like they personally betrayed him.
The cottage owners were handing out water aggressively like this was an emergency hydration intervention.
Sebastian the driver and Belos were nowhere in sight.
Bug stood in the middle of the room with Spirit and sighed dramatically:
"Man… I would've said something nice to Nyxar if I knew he was gonna die."
Nyxar appeared behind him.
"And what would you have liked to say?"
BUG SCREAMED.
Like he saw a demon behind him.
Everyone spun so fast someone's joints probably popped.
Ember: "Nope. Nope. No. I'm hallucinating."
Sylas: "Me too. Huh."
Nyxar looked at Vespera:
"…You know what's happening?"
Vespera: "I don't know."
Nyxar: "…okay also Ember why do you look like you didn't sleep? Like I know you need sleep but like—why do you look like you didn't sleep?"
Ember blinked.
Then full panic.
"WAIT. YOU'RE REAL?!"
Nyxar: "Uuuhh… I think?"
Ember launched forward and wrapped him in a crushing hug.
Nyxar stood stiff as a board, staring at Vespera with help-me eyes.
Vespera, also trapped in Sylas's desperate hug, gave a tiny "I have no idea" shrug.
After several minutes of Ember and Sylas calming down enough to breathe, everyone sat down.
Interrogation Time
Ember inhaled deeply.
"Before anything — are you TWO okay? Any lasting pain? Irritation? Anything?"
Nyxar and Vespera looked at each other, shrugged, and said in perfect unison:
"No."
Ember collapsed in relief. "Oh thank the gods."
Nyxar: "Are you gonna answer my question or…?"
Ember blinked. "What question?"
Nyxar:
"Why do you look like you didn't sleep? Like I said — you need it — but you look like you didn't sleep."
Sylas groaned.
"Probably because she didn't."
Vespera: "What?"
Sylas:
"You two were knocked out for TWO DAYS.
We didn't sleep. Just in case anything happened."
Nyxar: "What about the other three people?"
Bug:
"Oh — they went out to find a professional."
Everyone nodded like that was a normal thing.
Then Ember said what everyone had been mentally screaming since the duel:
"WHAT. THE HELL. WAS THAT?"
Nyxar and Vespera turned to each other, confusion mirrored perfectly, and said:
"…What you told us to do."
Sylas exploded.
"WE SAID DUEL! DO YOU TWO NOT KNOW WHAT A DUEL IS?!"
Both of them:
"Yes."
Ember:
"Oh gods. That's our fault."
Bug pointed at Nyxar.
"Okay but that dark thing? Never seen you use that before."
Nyxar shrugged.
"I don't know."
Sylas turned to Vespera.
"Could you sprout spider legs in human form before?!"
Vespera:
"I don't know. Probably not."
Ember rubbed her face, exhausted beyond her years.
"Alright—they're fine. Come on. Let's get some sleep. Sylas—"
She grabbed Sylas by the collar and started dragging him upstairs.
Everyone else followed like zombies.
Nyxar and Vespera were just left standing there like:
"…What just happened?"