[Welcome to the Dream Realm, Nephis!]
The first thing what greeted her was water. A lot of water. Even though she knew what to expect from the start, it still wasn't a pleasant feeling to have her whole body suddenly submerged in the cold dark sea.
Luckily, she didn't appear too deep in the sea, so it didn't take her long to orient herself.
With two strong strokes she emerged from the surface, gasping for breath. It was so dark that she couldn't tell where the sea ended, and the sky started.
Last time she found the safe ground only by a sheer chance, by blindly swimming forward. But her senses were so disoriented that it would be almost impossible to find the right direction again.
However, now she knew that she wasn't alone.
"Hey! Is anybody there? Hey!" she screamed out of her lungs.
After a while, when the echo of her voice died out, behind her resounded a weak response. "Neph? Is it really you?"
"Cassie!" Nephis swam towards the voice. "Don't go anywhere, I'll be with you at any moment."
She reached the cliff and climbed it. Immediately the cold breeze hit her naked body.
"Neph!" Cassie tried to get to her as fast as she could manage. "I'm so glad you are here. Are you injured? Where are we?" overwhelmed by emotions, her voice was getting more and more hysterical.
"Calm down. There is no immediate danger and I'm here with you," Nephis cooed her. "As for your questions, I'm alright. We are probably in the middle of a sea or ocean, but I can't say for sure, because there is no moon or stars."
"Ocean? Could we then be somewhere in Stormsea?"
"We don't have enough information to make an assumption. But I don't think we are in Stormsea, or at least in any region I know of." she dismissed Cassie's theory.
"Then what should we do?"
Nephis considered their options. Making the same decisions as the last time was feasible, but she was reluctant to do so. If utilized correctly, with her current knowledge she could accomplish much better outcome.
Her first objective was to reunite with Sunny and reinforce the party as soon as possible.
"We will wait for the morning to come. After the first rays of light appear, I'll make a signal, to signalize Awakened or other unfortunate Sleepers that we are here."
Cassie was a little confused by Neph's train of thoughts. "But won't we be risking attack from Nightmare Creatures? And why to do it in the morning, and not now? We can't even be sure if a sunrise will even come."
Nephis quickly came up with an excuse. "There is obviously some risk, but it's small compared to chance of gaining another ally. And if something comes, I want to be able to see it, but I also want people to notice my signal. Thats why to do it at sunrise."
The main reason for not doing it now was obviously because she didn't want to allure the being from the depths of the sea. But she couldn't tell that to Cassie.
It seemed that Neph's response somewhat satisfied her, and she didn't press any further.
"Um, Neph?"
"Yes?"
"Could we try to explore this place a little? Maybe we will find some sheltered spot to rest. Here it is too cold," Cassie suggested.
Nephis knew very well that on this desolate cliff there was no such place. She got up and briefly touched Cassie.
"W-what?" Cassie paused for the moment. "Why are you giving me your Armor? That's an A-awakened rank! Why would you do it?"
"You need it more than I."
Cassie was silent for a moment. She understood Nephis well enough to recognize when there is point in argument and when she should just give up.
"Whatever. Let's rest for the few hours. If the day won't come by then, I'll send out the signal regardless and then we'll think about what to do later," Nephis quickly ended the debate, since she didn't wish to quarrel.
When the sky slowly started turning grey, Nephis got up from her watch. Without waking Cassie up, who finally fell asleep around an hour ago, she climbed to the highest point of the cliff. Then she ignited the brightest flame she could manage.
She held it for two seconds, dismissed it and summoned it again, this time for five seconds. Then she lit it for two seconds twice more. After a ten-second pause she flashed with the shorter flames for the three times in row.
Nephis waited for half a minute and then she repeated the entire process once more.
This was a code commonly used by the Awakened. It had to be used with caution though, since they weren't the only residents of the Dream realm and nobody could ever tell what would see it. But if used in the right situation, it could be life-saving skill.
The signal she had set out right now was meant to be used for lost Sleepers to inform others about their presence.
After she was done, the sea had already started surging and she could see the first rays of sunlight. Now, the worst thing what could attack them were scavengers.
When the sea was almost gone, she went to wake Cassie.
She briefly explained the situation they were in and suggested exploring the coral labyrinth below them. Cassie was astounded by the bizarreness of this place but couldn't hide her disappointment of still not knowing where they were.
Last night, they spent most of the time explaining their abilities, memories, and theorizing about the best possible follow-up actions, so it took them only a short while to prepare on the descend.
Naturally, Nephis knew Cassie's capabilities lot better than Cassie herself and had countless time bigger experience in almost every aspect. It would be more practical just to tell her what to and not to do, but she wanted to listen to her insight and treat her as an equal.
This way Cassie would prepare much better for the rough reality of the Forgotten Shore.
Cassie also gave her the rope memory because for herself it had no use.
So, after the short preparation, they departed into the depths of the labyrinth.
They headed towards the west, but since Nephis didn't remember the exact way to the headless statue, they advanced very slowly.
Luckily there wasn't many creatures yet, and they encountered only lone scavengers. They managed to evade most of them, only trice she had to fight.
They harvested as much monster meat as they could bear. Their pace slightly lessened, but it was still plausible.
Nephis also received a memory; a long dagger called Sting. It was sharp and sturdy, but its only problem was that it shone with a faint blue light anytime a Nightmare Creature got nearby – a perfect weapon for a silent assassin. It was useless to her, since her current weapon fitted her much better, but she kept it for Sunny.
When the sun leaned towards the horizon, Nephis figured that they won't be able to make it to the headless statue till the evening, so she decided to go back and try tomorrow.
But then, she halted.
There stood a lone shadow right in front of them, waving.
She smiled at it. "Would you mind leading us to your base?"
Shadow enthusiastically shook its head and gesticulated to follow him.
Huh? So, this time there is only his shadow? What a coward.
"Neph what's going on? Who are you talking to?" Cassie was perplexed by her weird demeanor.
"Oh, it looks like our signal was received."
"What, is there someone else?"
"Yes, a shadow."
"What? Shadow? But whose? A Nightmare Creature?"
Nephis looked at the shadow, who silently observed them. "You are Sunny's, right?"
Of course, she knew perfectly well it was Sunny's shadow, but it could raise suspicion if she sounded too confident.
Shadow slowly nodded. If it had a mouth, she was sure it would hang it open.
Cassie meanwhile was still perfectly confused. "Sunny is here?"
"No, only his shadow. It will lead us to him."
Cassie blinked. "Oh… alright."
She understood it pretty quickly. That's good. I'm glad that I won't have to explain anything else.
"Let's go, then."
With the shadow's help, the speed of their advancement increased twofold. Since their sneaky companion was already familiarized with the way and could sense the danger far ahead, they managed to arrive at the statue before the evening.
A scrawny teen greeted them at the top.
"Wow, I can't still really believe you are actually here. What happened to you?"
"Sunny!" Cassie ran towards the voice and then, to Sunny's great discomfort, hugged him tightly.
Nephis felt a pang of jealousy.
Not that she was worried that Cassie would try to steal him, but she wanted a hug too.
Another reason for me to procced faster. I can't wait for another ten years to actually kiss him.
But wait. I can't proceed too fast. He is still a minor after all. I mean, although we are technically the same age, it would be still weird.
She postponed the solution of the complex moral dilemma for an indefinite period and returned her attention to her friends.
"I'm glad to see you too, Sunny. It seems you had a good time."
Sunny grinned at her remark and gently broke free from the Cassie's hug. "What can I say? I haven't even managed to settle down and you were already sending out that damn signal. Have you completely lost it? You couldn't have even known what kind of region this is. I thought teacher Julius told us countless times to be extremely careful about drawing attention. That's why I send my shadow to explore first. There is no way I would ever approach to such stupid idiot on my own, with not knowing what trouble they might bring upon themselves."
Nephis stared at him with a deadpan expression.
He was, of course, right. Without her knowledge of the future, it would truly be an irresponsible move with no excuse. And she could in no way tell him the truth.
And that's why she did the only reasonable thing she could think of.
She exploited his flaw.
"But Sunny, what's with that shadow of yours? Is that your aspect? How does it work?" she showered him with questions.
"Yeah, it's my aspect," Sunny gritted his teeth. "It is sort of like a sixth sense. I can perceive the world from shadows and explore it through my own shadow. The perfect scouting ability. But how did you know it was me from the start?"
"I glimpsed it several times on the Academy," she quickly fabricated an excuse. "And in my clan, there used to be an Awakened with a shadow aspect, so I'm a little acquainted with it. And that it was you I just guessed."
"Shadow user, really?" Sunny's eyes beamed. "Can you tell me more about him? I can't understand my aspect very well myself and your information would be a great help."
In what kind of predicament did I get myself into again? But wait. I actually can help Sunny to accommodate on his aspect better. There really used to be a shadow user in my clan after all. Or rather will be.
"I can tell you. But my knowledge about it isn't vast, so don't expect any life-changing information."
"That's alright. I'll gladly take anything you have to offer," he accepted her help. "By the way, since I have already told you about my aspect, don't you two want to share yours?"
Although they had spent a lot of their time in the Academy together, they had never actually shared anything about their own powers. Only Cassie had told them a little about her aspect on their last day.
This time, Nephis had told them everything about her capabilities, except her flaw. She also gave Sunny the knife memory. He didn't argue, since he knew well it would improve the survivability of them all.
Cassie shared what she could, but it wasn't much, because she herself was confused about her strange Aspect.
Lastly, Sunny told them a lot, but he omitted many vital details. Nephis didn't blame him, though. She understood his position and knew it would be really naïve of her to expect immediate trust from him.
With the information, they planned the best strategy for their advancement. Nephis wouldn't have any problem with fighting by herself, but then Sunny's learning progress would stagnate significantly.
In the end, their formation didn't differ much from the original one. Nephis would distract their foe, Sunny would finish it off from the cover and Cassie would wait for them in a safe distance.
Thanks to Sunny's shadow, nobody had to take the night watch, but Nephis was still awake and although she couldn't see in dark, she knew that Sunny hadn't fallen asleep either.
She wanted to start a conversation, but she was unable to find the right way. Despite lying next to each other, he felt so distant, and so foreign.
Maybe that was how felt every normal teenage girl, being alone with her crush. She had no way to know, since she had never been a normal teenage girl.
In the end it was Sunny who broke the silence.
"I can't really make you out, you know?"
"Do you think I'm weird?" Nephis inquired.
"Yes. But as if it was ever something to be ashamed about."
"Humans are flock creatures. Not fitting in sometimes means the death sentence."
"Then you are lucky to encounter such an openminded and smart individual like me who would never judge people based on such superficial thing like a personality," joked Sunny.
"Then why are you saying you can't make me out?"
"Because I don't understand your intentions. You were always kind to us, even though we have no use to you. Truth to be told, it feels a little unsettling."
"Maybe you are just underestimating yourself. People will never know who they truly are and what they are capable of, until they are forced by the situation to look into the very bottom of themselves. And as I said yesterday, I would never help a hopeless case."
"Perhaps…," he hummed and then fell into a silence.
They stayed like this for some time, but then Sunny spoke out once again.
"Why me? There were countless other Sleepers, but from the very start, you, the last member of the mighty Immortal Flame clan, chose to waste your time on outskirt rat like me."
"Maybe because you reminded me one long lost friend who I held very dear to me."
"Am I a replacement?" Sunny scoffed.
She paused for a moment.
"No, you aren't. There is nothing what can ever replace him to me."
"Mhm."
Nephis sighed. She didn't say a word anymore and Sunny didn't continue in the conversation either.
And just like this, each of them succumbed into a dreamless slumber.
On that night a storm suddenly came. Thanks to Sunny's shadow, it didn't catch them by surprise, but it was still terrible. They clung together on the small flat platform, supporting each other from the fierce winds to not to get swept into the sea.
When it finally ended, it was almost sunrise and they collapsed on the ground, sore and numb.
Nephis told Sunny to wake them after an hour. Both she and Cassie were exhausted, since they didn't sleep properly in the two days in row. It would be madness to descend into the labyrinth, while being sleep-deprived.
But, the next morning, instead of Sunny or an alarm, she woke up into the sound of a frightened scream.