The moment he opened his eyes, Awner was falling.
Not through seawater—no, this was something far worse.
He plunged toward a vast, nightmare-born mass that only resembled an ocean. Its surface was unnaturally flat, perfectly still, as if someone had stretched a colossal mirror of pure darkness across the world. No waves. No movement. Just endless, silent black.
A nightmare creature in the shape of a sea.
Without wasting a second, Awner triggered his dormant ability. Space thickened around him, turning solid beneath his will. His fall stopped instantly, suspended atop invisible footholds. From the outside, it would look like he was simply standing in midair.
Forgotten Shore was harrowing, but eerily beautiful.
A somber grey sky pressed down on black earth, and between them lay a crimson sea of twisting coral blades—blood-red spires where water should have been. Strange stone figures, , and unfamiliar ruins punctured the dull landscape here and there, as though they had been dropped randomly from different nightmares.
Awner steadied himself and exhaled.
He was completely naked.
"…Right."
He summoned his armor, obsidian plates forming instantly around his body. Only then did he step lightly across the solidified air toward land, scanning for the others.
One command to his Void Gaze was enough.
Nephis—450 meters away.
Cassie—2km and beyond that.
Sunny—the farthest, nearly 8 kilometers west.
Their runes flickered faintly in his vision like distant stars in the dark.
Nephis was already moving toward Cassie, but at a slow, cautious pace. After thinking it through, Awner changed direction.
Rejoining Nephis first was more efficient.
She was closer, on the same route, and together they could reach Cassie faster.
Nephis – POV
Nephis respawned on the blackened shore of the dark sea.
After systematically checking her surroundings, she turned away from the water. She didn't fully understand why, but an instinctive, primal fear crawled through her the moment she looked at the sea's surface.
Whatever lived in that darkness… it was certainly a nightmare creature.
She had been walking for only a short while when she heard something—light footsteps, too precise and too controlled to belong to anything mindless.
She scanned her surroundings, searching for the source, when a voice—calm but faintly amused—cut through the air.
A boy with white hair hovered above the ground an arm's length away, dressed in black armor so sleek it looked almost like a second skin. His presence was silent, unnatural. He stood effortlessly in the air, as though gravity did not apply to him at all.
Voidborne Sovereign.
Her mind ran through multiple scenarios at once, analyzing, calculating.
But her expression did not move an inch.
They stared at each other for a long, still ten seconds.
Then he spoke.
"Changing Star."
He said it dramatically—too dramatically—before continuing, "Would you like to join me in venturing deeper into this nightmare?"
She had researched him before. Enough to be confident she could defeat him if he turned out to be an assassin sent by a clan.
But something about him she can't understand
Her confidence slipped just a fraction.
She nodded.
He descended smoothly, landing right in front of her.
"There's one more person. We need to move fast." He gestured forward.
She followed, though wariness coiled tightly in her chest.And why did she sense something faintly simillar to dreamspawn-like within him—similar but different?
Against her will, uncertainty began to creep in.
They were running when he suddenly lifted a hand.
"Wait."
She stopped immediately.
Ahead, a nightmare creature roamed across the open land, moving toward the west.
"A weakened Awakened beast," she judged aloud. "Should we detour around—"
Awner shook his head.
"If we waste time, the sleeper might die."
She frowned. If he truly intended to fight for for complete stranger in a dream relem
But all he said was, "Don't worry. I'll handle it."
She decided not to argue.
If anything, this would let her confirm his capabilities.
Awner crouched slightly in midair, creating footholds beneath his feet again—solidifying space itself. Nephis still could not understand the mechanics behind it.
Then he summoned a memory.
It appeared instantly. No delay.
Like it had been waiting in his hand.
Nephis's eyes widened slightly.
a sniper rifle.
He took aim. Waited precisely seven seconds.
Secek.
The sound was soft, suppressed.
Nephis followed the trajectory with her gaze—and froze.
From this distance, she couldn't see perfectly, but it was enough.
The bullet struck the nightmare creature's neck, and its head was severed cleanly, sent flying like a kicked soccer ball.
A chill went down her spine.
If he had aimed at her earlier…
She would have died without knowing how ? .
Her heartbeat quickened.
How did he have an Ascended-rank memory?
Was he truly a sleeper—or an assassin
Her mind raced, constructing one scenario after another.
Awner, meanwhile, felt a sudden wave of goosebumps.
He glanced sideways.
Nephis was staring at him with something between fear and suspicion.
"…What's wrong with her?" he thought.
To be fair, he never felt safe around Nephis in the early story .She wasn't normal.
He doubted even the author fully understood what was going on inside her head.
They collected the soul shard before continuing.
...........
Cassie heard their approaching footsteps.
Her head snapped toward them.
She saw one rune blazing brightly—and one shape that looked like an empty void.
But she knew exactly who that void belonged to.
He came.
He really came for her.
Her heart pounded so hard it hurt.
Cassie rushed toward him, ready to throw herself at him—
—but Nephis caught her gently, stopping her just long enough to transfer the Awakened-rank armor Awner had given her earlier. Cassie was completely naked, and Nephis refused to let her meet him like that.
Ah—huh?!"
"You are naked," Nephis said flatly.
Before Cassie could react, Nephis transferred the Awakened armor .
Cassie blushed. "Wait—w-was he staring—?!"
Awner turned away quickly. "I was being respectful!"
Nephis looked at him. "…Your face was red."
"What—no it wasn't!"
Cassie's arms suddenly wrapped around him from behind.
"You really came," she whispered into his shoulder, voice breaking.
He froze, then placed a hand over hers.
"I'll always find you," he murmured.
Nephis watched them.
Watched Cassie cling to Awner's sleeve, watched the relief flooding her face, watched the two of them fall into a rhythm that did not include her.
It was irrational. Meaningless.
And yet, for the first time in a long while, Nephis felt distinctly like a third wheel observing something she had never been taught to understand.
Affection.
Attachment.
Warmth.
She had learned battle, discipline, pain, survival.
But whatever this was?
It was foreign.
Awner cleared his throat. "Let's move. The sky's getting darker."
Cassie nodded quickly. "Y-yes. Sorry."
The three began walking. Cassie drifted to Awner's right side immediately, fingers sliding into his. Not desperately—more instinctively, as though her body moved faster than her thoughts.
Nephis caught it.
Of course she did.
Her eyes narrowed just a fraction, the expression subtle but unmistakable.
Awner felt it too. A faint prickling at the back of his neck.
He glanced at her—then looked away fast.
Cassie, blissfully unaware, asked, "So… how did you two meet?"
Awner: "…"
Nephis: "…"
Cassie tilted her head. "Did it go badly?"
Awner coughed. "We, uh… confronted each other."
Nephis's tone was deceptively calm. "He appeared above me and addressed me with unnecessary theatrics."
Awner winced. "Hey—come on. I was being polite."
"You were hovering in the air and reciting my true name in slow motion."
Awner meanwhile she is talking a lot
Cassie's lips twitched. "That… does sound like you."
Awner groaned. "Cassie, it's called Aura farming."
She giggled, leaning slightly against him.
Nephis looked away, her ear bit red.
The sky dimmed further as they climbed the obsidian slope, the crimson coral fields crackling faintly under the growing shadows.
Eventually, they reached a hill crowned by a towering mass of coral. The structure twisted upward like a petrified skeleton of some colossal, ancient beast.
Awner scanned the area. "No scavengers."
Nephis nodded. "Good. We can take the high ground."
She summoned her golden rope, but Awner raised a hand.
"I'll go first."
He stepped onto nothing—and climbed.
Air hardened beneath each step, forming invisible platforms only he could use.
Cassie whispered, awed, "That ability… it's unfair."
Nephis watched closely,
Awner reached the top, crouched, then extended his hand downward. With rope
pulling her up with controlled strength.
Cassie landed beside him and exhaled with relief.
Nephis, meanwhile, took the rope upward. She reached the top last, her eyes flickering—analytical, cautious, unreadable.
They settled briefly.
Cassie sat by herself, unsure, waiting for someone to tell her what to do.
Nephis broke the silence first.
"I'll prepare food."
She set down the scavenger meat they had harvested earlier, producing a small flame using a memory.
Awner hesitated first but eventually decided to wait a little . After some time
He looked at the fire.
Then at Cassie.
Then back at the fire.
"…Wait."
Before Nephis could react—
HSSSSSSS—
Awner poured water over the flames.
Cassie jumped.
Nephis stiffened, shadows pooling in her eyes.
A dangerous moment of silence pulsed between them.
Nephis spoke, voice icy. "Why."
Awner raised his hands. "Fire light is attracting scavengers. With my Void Gaze, I can see them moving already.
That was reasonable answers .
Before the tension could escalate, Awner snapped his fingers.
A small light formed—then another.
Two small flashlights, bright and clean, hovered in his palms.
Cassie blinked. "…Since when do Awakened have flashlights?"
Awner smiled faintly. "Since I do."
Nephis's brows furrowed. "You did not summon a memory."
Awner didn't answer.
Instead, he summoned something else.
Hot containers materialized in the air—steam rising—aromas instantly filling the coral alcove.
Cassie's eyes widened.
"That's… the Academy cafeteria food."
Is she even blind at this point he taught .
Three types of meat.
Fresh rice.
Hot broth.
Even a burger—Cassie's favorite.
Nephis stared openly now.
"…How," she asked quietly.
Awner blinked. "How what?"
"How did you summon this without a memory?"
Cassie turned toward him too, clearly waiting.
Awner looked away.
Nephis narrowed her eyes… then, abruptly, she chose not to continue the topic.
Her instincts warned her that prying too far right now would only make things more complicated.
So she let the questions die in the air.
The three settled into silence, eating under the dim glow of the flashlights as the crimson coral swayed gently below them.
Awner leaned back, summoning his runes be
hind him—floating symbols of glowing violet and black, dancing like stars.
Cassie watched him with admiration.
Nephis watched him with suspicion.
He watched them both, wondering how he ended up babysitting two future powerhouses
The night deepened.
The hilltop remained silent.
And the Forgotten Shore watched them back.