Sunny Pov
The rest of our trek toward the tall, jagged hill was surprisingly smooth—suspiciously smooth, actually. Nephis walked ahead with the quiet certainty of someone who, at some point, had personally walked into the architect's office and demanded the floor plan.
She turned left.
Then right.
Then left again.
And the three of us followed behind her like lost ducklings clinging to the one adult who actually knew how to cross the street.
Efficient? Yes.
Safe? Apparently.
Comfortable? Not even close.
Because in the Nightmare, nothing ever behaved this nicely.
Which left me with exactly one suspect.
Awner.
I didn't want to blame him. Really. I wanted to be mature, rational, dignified.
Instead I started cursing my own Aspect.
Divine shadow affinity?
Affinity for unusual situations?
Great. Absolutely wonderful. Truly life-changing.
Meanwhile this lunatic was walking beside us, violating the laws of physics with the relaxed confidence of a man jaywalking across time and space.
"Unfair," I muttered before I could stop myself.
He must've heard, because he gave me a tiny glance—half amusement, half pity, and one hundred percent condescending. Then he went right back to observing Cassie like the Nightmare was merely a mildly inconvenient background for his little sightseeing tour.
We finally reached the top of the hill. Nephis stopped, lifted her chin, and studied the sky with that stoic, emotionless divinity she carried like a second skin.
"It should be safe to light a fire now," she said. "We have time before sunset."
I nodded, though my attention slid—again—to Awner, who was sneaking glances at me for reasons I could not identify. Not hostile. Not curious. Just… weird. As if he had read a spoiler about my life.
Which, considering he read random books in the middle of a nightmare, was very possible.
Water?I asked after observing the pair for quite some time
Cassie brightened, producing a beautiful blue-glass bottle—a Memory always full of clean water.
My mouth watered.
My resentment deepened.
Infinite water Memory.
Me?
I had a bell.
Life was a cruel comedian.
Nephis had already started gathering wood when Awner snapped his fingers again—casual, relaxed.
A neatly cut, perfectly seasoned, freshly cooked slab of scavenger meat appeared from thin air.
I stared at the meat.
Then at him.
Then at the meat again.
"…Did you just conjure barbecue?"
Awner shrugged. "Magic."
Magic.
Right.
Of course. Nothing weird , totally normal
Still… the smell was divine.
As we sat, the day bled into darkness. The tide rose between the crimson walls, a thunderous, echoing roar. The Nightmare swallowed the world in blackness—but the warmth of the fire, and the food, kept us anchored to something almost peaceful.
For a long time, no one spoke.
Which was torturous.
So I broke first.
"Do scavengers come up here?"
Nephis didn't glance away from the roasting meat. "Yes. But only at night. They disappear during the day."
I swallowed.
I knew exactly where they disappeared to.
"They gather near the place I used for shelter earlier," I said. "Tall cliff. Headless knight statue. Very subtle landmark."
Cassie gasped. "A statue? For you to survive there, it must've been—"
"Missing its head. Yes. I lived on the neck."
Her awe was touching.
My trauma was not.
I continued, "Two sea monsters fought near it on the first day. When the water receded, the carcass attracted hundreds of scavengers."
Cassie shivered.
Awner turned a page in his book.
His book.
Who studies in a nightmare?
Nephis finally looked at me, eyes narrowed. "How long?"
I blinked. "How long what?"
"The carcass."
"…One day. Maybe two."
She nodded, thoughtful.
And then—just as if the Nightmare wanted to remind us where we were—the sea swallowed the horizon, night devoured the sky, and Awner casually snapped his fingers again… producing a floating orb of soft white light.
Of course. Magic ^_^
Cassie broke the silence with a cheerful, "How about introductions? I'm Cassie."
Nephis followed, reluctantly. "Neph."
Awner didn't even look up. "Awner."
I cleared my throat.
"My name's Sunless. But you can call me Sunny."
I continued:
"Since we'll rely on each other, we should share our abilities and Memories."
Nephis stiffened.
Cassie folded her hands.
Awner actually closed his book—curious.
Fine. Showtime.
"My Attributes give me affinity to shadows. Slight divine affiliation. And I… tend to end up in unlikely situations."
Cassie nodded. "He's telling the truth."
I froze.
"…What?"
"That's my Ability," she explained. "I see Attributes. Sometimes visions."
Great.
An oracle.
Exactly the kind of person who could see inside me ? No no, i mean inside my runes.
I explained my shadow scouting. Their reactions were… strange.
Nephis's expression hardened.
Cassie covered her chest.
"Uh… what?"
Nephis asked slowly, "Have you ever used your shadow in the Academy?"
"In the Academy? Sure. Why?"
The realization hit me like a burning brick.
Oh no.
Oh no.
"I HAVE NEVER USED IT IMPROPERLY!" I blurted. "EVER!"
Awner made a choking sound—
He tried not to laugh—
Then failed.
He doubled over, laughing.
I considered stabbing him.
Purely for balance.
But I forced myself to continue.
"I have three Memories—armor, sword, bell."
Nephis listed hers next—short, efficient, Nephis-style.
Cassie followed—sweet, shy, painfully honest.
Then we all turned to Awner. Curious as hell nephis even move a bit forward subconcisely.
He finally looked up, stretched his neck slightly, and smiled like someone about to ruin our peace.
"My ability is… not that interesting."
We all collectively judged him.
Hard.
He sighed.
"Fine. I have three Memories—armor, sword, and an Ascended weapon."
Cassie inhaled.
Nephis blinked.
Rich basterd he mentally scrremed.
He continued casually:
"I have two Attributes. Dreamspawn. And Void's Eye. Void's Eye lets me see eight kilometers ahead. Through anything."
"…So you can see people naked?" I asked, vengeance sharpening my voice.
Awner didn't blink.
"I can indeed. Even skin doesn't block it. I can see very, very deep inside them ."
He paused.
"Straight to the bone."
Cassie's jaw dropped.
Nephis froze to marble.
Then he added, completely deadpan:
"My type is mature women. It's not like there's anything interesting to see here."
His eyes shifted… directly to Nephis's chest.
She became a statue.
Cassie flushed.
Sunny witnessed my life flash before my eyes.
Before anyone recovered, he continued:
"My Aspect Ability is sorcery. And magicians don't reveal their tricks. But imagine someone like Gojo Satoru."
"WHO?" I snapped.
He didn't answer.
He just smiled.
That smile told me one thing:
We were doomed.
Absolutely doomed.
He stretched, rolled his shoulders, and added:
"Anyway, I'm strong. That's what matters."
Eventually, I sighed. "Fine. We have enough to survive."
Nephis stood. "I'll take first watch."
Trying to be helpful, I raised my hand.
"My shadow doesn't sleep. It can—"
"I'll take first watch," she repeated.
Colder.
I shut up.
Awner was already in a sleeping bag.
Cassie snuggled into hers.
Nephis stood guard, gazing into the dark like the moon had sculpted her.
And me?
I lay down, covered my face, and decided that if we survived this Nightmare…
…I was NEVER answering a shadow-related question again.