Sunny and Nephis parted first, both stepping back as if realizing only now what they had done. Neither could hold the other's gaze. The silence between them wasn't uncomfortable, but it was fragile.
Nephis cleared her throat and looked away, her cheeks faintly warm beneath the moonlight. Sunny rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly awkward ,this was harder than fighting abominations, he thought.
"Let's go. We have a long journey ahead," Nephis said quietly.
"Yeah," Sunny muttered.
They walked side by side down the corridor, close enough for their shoulders to almost brush, yet both carefully avoiding it. Every few steps, Sunny caught Nephis glancing at him. Every time, she quickly looked away. He wasn't faring any better.
He didn't regret it. That wasn't the problem.
The problem was that he had no idea how to behave now.
When they finally reached the upper halls again, the two of them split without a word. Nephis turned down one corridor, Sunny down another. The distance between them felt longer than the actual walk.
Inside his room, Sunny closed the door and leaned back against it, exhaling hard.
The kiss replayed in his mind again and again.
He ran a hand through his hair, annoyed at the heat creeping up his face. "What the hell was I thinking?" he whispered to himself.
But he knew the answer.
He had spent the entire day seeing the consequences of his future self's choices. How the older cohort looked at him. How they feared losing him. How their lives bent around something he had once done without a second thought. He realized painfully that everything he did now would ripple outward. Affect them. Break them.
And Nephis… she would have to carry the weight of those ripples more than anyone. Sunny wasn't foolish enough to believe a kiss would solve anything. But the truth was simple.
For the first time in a long time, he had stopped running. He still wanted freedom. Still wanted a fate unbound. But maybe he didn't have to walk toward it alone.
That thought was what gave him the courage. Just a realization that in the face of everything ahead, he didn't want to be alone anymore.
He sat on his bed, staring at the faint glow of the moon filtering through the curtains.
"Another way," he murmured to himself. "There has to be another way."
A way that freed him. A way that didn't destroy them. His thoughts shifted uneasily to their next destination. Godgrave, the name echoing in his mind. Why Godgrave? He had never heard of such a place. The way everyone spoke of it… it couldn't be good. It sounded like a death zone, maybe even worse.
Saint Cassie had suggested it, and Nephis agreed too quickly. Why would they go there? What was so safe about a place named Godgrave? Wouldn't the waking world be safer? Or simply staying inside the Ivory Tower? None of it made sense. He felt paranoia creeping up his spine.
Sunny sighed, pushing the thoughts aside.
The room slowly dimmed as he lay down, exhaustion crashing over him. His last thought before sleep pulled him under was of Nephis standing under starlight, looking less lonely than she had when they first met.
For the first time in days, Sunny's breathing evened out, and he fell into a quiet, dreamless sleep.
****
Mist rolled over the Mirror Lake like pale smoke, and the Ivory Tower rose above it, sharp and silent. One by one, the members of the cohort, young and old, gathered in the main hall, answering Nephis's summons.
They had not gathered yesterday since Nephis had to go somewhere, so they rescheduled the meeting for the next morning. The atmosphere felt different today, more tense.
Saint Nephis was already there, glancing at them with her usual indifference, but there was a hint of uncertainty in her eyes.
Young Effie stretched her arms as she walked in, yawning. "What's with the mood? Are we leaving somewhere?"
Older Jet stood near the windows, arms crossed. "Yes. We are."
Kai and his older counterpart arrived together, the younger one bright-eyed, the older unusually withdrawn.
Cassie, young and old, stood near the end of the room. The younger seemed anxious; the older had a deep frown carved into her expression.
But everyone kept glancing toward the entrance.
Waiting for young Sunny and Nephis.
Before long, the two of them appeared. Nephis in front, her expression composed and unreadable, Sunny following a few steps behind, gaze lowered and shadows coiled faintly around his feet.
Only Cassie's blind eyes flicked toward them with something like understanding.
Saint Nephis didn't wait.
"Everyone," she said, her voice carrying through the hall, calm and resolute, "pack lightly. We move in an hour."
Young Effie blinked. "Move? Where?"
"Godgrave," Nephis replied.
The word dropped into the hall like a stone.
Young Kai frowned immediately. "Godgrave? Never heard of it."
Older Kai exhaled slowly. "You don't want to. It's worse than a death zone."
Young Sunny's brows knitted. "Then why go there?"
Nephis didn't hesitate. "Because we need to hide you from Anvil's gaze." She paused, then added quietly, "Soon, I'll be summoned. Things are moving faster than last time. And when I am, I'll be dispatched to Godgrave."
Silence followed.
Nephis continued. "Godgrave has a fragment of the Shadow Realm embedded within it. Any domain used there weakens except the shadow domain. Valor cannot use their full strength there."
Sunny frowned. "A fragment of the Shadow Realm? How is that in Godgrave?"
Effie answered instead, shrugging with a helpless expression. "The Lord of Shadows brought it there. Your older self."
Sunny's breath caught. "He did what?"
Effie lifted her hands. "Don't ask me how. He dumped half the impossible things he did on us like they were groceries. But yes, he somehow dragged a piece of the Shadow Realm into Godgrave."
Young Kai blinked slowly. "So there really is a Realm of Death? We left the Academy thinking monsters were our biggest problem…"
Jet shrugged. "Better get used to it."
Older Nephis cut through their panic. "Listen. Godgrave is dangerous, yes. But it's the safest place for us right now. No Supreme can exert their full domain there. And Anvil is the greatest threat we face at this moment."
Young Nephis nodded reluctantly. "So hiding under a realm of death is safer than being anywhere near Valor."
Saint Cassie added, "Exactly. We're going to Godgrave because no Valor domain can reach full strength there. Anvil especially. If we stay here in the Ivory Tower, we're exposed."
Young Sunny frowned slightly, absorbing it. Then he spoke. "Then what about the waking world? Wouldn't it be safer there?"
Saint Cassie turned her head toward him. Her voice was soft but left no room for misunderstanding. "No. Anvil has eyes there."
Sunny's brows tightened. "I see."
Young Cassie frowned. "And what about you? If you're summoned earlier…"
Nephis cut her off. Her voice was steady, but something in her eyes tightened. "If Anvil calls, I'll have to go. There's no avoiding it."
The meeting continued for several minutes, a steady murmur of planning and forced calm. They discussed routes, supplies, the order of departure, anything to keep their minds from the weight of what Godgrave represented. Everyone could feel the pressure building, even if no one spoke it aloud.
Halfway through Kai's question about provisions, Cassie suddenly tilted her head. A faint ripple passed through the air. Cassie's blind eyes sharpened, turning toward Nephis with unsettling precision.
"Nephis," she said quietly, "Anvil is calling for you."
The room went silent. No one breathed.
Nephis didn't look surprised, only resigned. "So soon," she murmured. Then she straightened, expression settling into the calm of a commander. She turned toward the younger cohort. "Depart as planned. Don't wait for me. Cassie will guide you to the Gate."
She stepped toward the door.
But Cassie spoke again. "Neph."
Changing Star paused.
"Take Sunny's shadows with you," Cassie added.
A faint crease appeared between Nephis's brows. "Why?"
Cassie shrugged, her voice firm. "They'll help you. Take them."
The silence stretched. Nephis didn't understand, but she trusted Cassie enough not to question it. She nodded once. "Very well."
Her pale eyes shifted to Sunny. His shadows stirred. Sunny hesitated, then let them go. One by one, seven dark shadows flowed away from him and joined Nephis, merging seamlessly into her own shadow.
****
Nephis stepped into the throne hall of the Bastion.
For an instant, she thought she saw a faint crimson tint clinging to the walls. It vanished as soon as she blinked, leaving only the cold marble and pale stone she was familiar with.
Her boots echoed softly as she walked deeper inside. Behind her, the massive doors closed with a slow, deliberate thud that reverberated through the hall.
At the far end of the hall, resting upon a throne of polished obsidian and steel, sat the Anvil of Valor.
A middle aged man with refined features, a neatly trimmed beard, and slick black hair. His posture was relaxed, regal even, as though he had been waiting for her arrival with deliberate patience. His crimson eyes glowed faintly in the dim hall, reflecting the strange light like embers.
He had an unusual smile on his handsome face.
Nephis frowned. Anvil was not someone who smiled. He was cold. Now, however, his demeanor felt different. Wrong in a way she couldn't name.
She hid her unease behind a perfectly impassive expression and asked, calm and respectful:
"Why have you summoned me, Your Majesty?"
Anvil's smile didn't waver.
"Can't a father call for a meeting with his daughter?"
Her brow twitched almost imperceptibly. Her unease sharpened. Yes, he had always treated her differently compared to Morgan, but this was something else entirely.
Nephis kept her tone even, stripped of warmth.
"Is that so. Then, if there's nothing else… may I leave?"
Silence.
She turned and began to walk toward the doors. Her steps were steady, but every instinct screamed at her. She took three steps before his voice sliced through the hall.
"My loyal daughter," Anvil said softly, almost too gently. "You wouldn't be planning a rebellion… would you?"
Nephis froze, her breath stalling.
Slowly, she turned back toward the throne.
Anvil was leaning forward now, elbows resting on the arms of his seat, crimson eyes gleaming in the dim light. That same smile stayed on his face, but now it was infinitely colder.
Nephis didn't flinch. Her expression remained perfectly indifferent.
"Why would I do that?" she asked.
Anvil chuckled, a low, humorless sound.
"I don't know," he said lightly. He paused, then something shifted behind his eyes. His voice changed, dripping into something inhuman, warped from within.
"Maybe," Anvil whispered, "because of some detestable fiend."
The final word reverberated through the hall, slipping under her skin like a needle of ice. The temperature around her seemed to drop, the crimson glow of his eyes deepening as if feeding on her reaction.
Anvil was not supposed to know him. Not yet.
Nephis felt her pulse thrum once, then steady.
She stared back at him without blinking.
"What fiend?" she asked, tone sharp as tempered steel.
Anvil's smile widened.
"Oh… you know exactly who."
He took another step forward, the sound echoing through the throne room like a solitary heartbeat. As his foot touched the floor, the entire hall was suddenly drowned in a furious crimson glow.