Within a boundless darkness, a lone hill towered over the black sea like a forgotten thought.
Two girls occupied it.
One lay still, seemingly asleep, her breathing slow and steady, rising and falling in time with the distant rhythm of the unseen waves. The other wore an inscrutable expression, her eyes were closed as well but she seemed to be mediating, her posture rigid with quiet focus.
She wore a crude garment woven from black seaweed, barely more than a makeshift brassiere. It clung lightly to her frame, leaving pale skin exposed to the cold air. Strands of silver hair slipped free and stirred faintly in the wind.
The outfit offered little protection, but Nephis did not mind. Mobility mattered more than comfort. And besides… there was no one here to see. Only a blind girl, and creatures too mindless to care.
Her decision to go east was based on the fact that the scavengers seemed to migrate west, entering deeper into the labyrinth. She didn't know why they behaved this way but avoiding more awakened beasts seemed like the wiser course.
Her companion, Cassia, did not object the idea and so the two girls began their journey.
Despite her efforts to avoid confrontation, Nephis had been forced into battle earlier that day.
Two Carapace Scavengers.
The fight had been anything but easy. She had danced between snapping pincers and crushing claws, manoeuvring with precision, baiting one beast into shattering the other's carapace with its own strength. From there, she severed the remaining scavengers legs and pierced its torso, ending the altercation.
It was a dire battle, one in which she emerged unscathed.
Her aspect had seen to that.
Now, Nephis remained still, listening. She was robbed of her sight and didn't dare to start another fire after that 'incident' so she had to make good use of her other senses.
That was when she noticed Cassie's breathing quicken.
Nephis reacted instantly, extending her hand as instinctively as drawing breath, ready to summon her sword.
A heartbeat later, Cassie jolted upright, gasping.
"What's wrong?" Nephis asked concernedly, though unbeknownst to her, Cassie could not tell the difference between her concerned and casual tone.
For a moment, Cassie struggled to speak. Then excitement wormed its way into her voice as she said:
"I- I had a vision. I saw a castle Neph... A castle full of people!"
Nephis stilled.
'Ah.'
This was great news.
Landmarks such as castles were usually citadels, structures that were once homes to the past inhabitants of the dream realm, now strongholds for the humans of the waking world.
And where there was a citadel, there was a gateway: an exit.
Nephis nodded and inclined her head slightly.
"Where?"
Cassie swallowed.
"Its... West."
A heavy silence settled between them.
This was terrible news.
***
Sunny's shadow slid down the hill, gliding silently toward the two unfamiliar silhouettes he had sensed earlier.
What it saw stunned him - more than any nightmare creature ever had, and for entirely different reasons.
Two girls stood a short distance away.
One of them looked delicate, almost fragile. She had pale blond hair and cerulean eyes that stared ahead without focus, unfixed on anything in particular. She wore a simple tunic, leather sandals, and a cloak the color of sea waves draped loosely around her shoulders.
The other girl was taller, her build lithe and athletic. Silver hair fell freely down her back, catching faint light as she moved. Her grey eyes were clear and sharp, missing nothing. She was dressed in crude garments woven from black seaweed, revealing more skin than they concealed, and stood barefoot on the stone as if she belonged there.
A golden rope connected the two girls together.
Sunny swallowed.
"Beautiful…" he murmured without thinking.
Yoru frowned.
"Huh? What do you see?"
"…Two girls. Coming from the east. It's - uh - Changing Star. And Cassie."
Yoru's frown deepened and he gave Sunny an incredulous look.
"Whats that look for?"
Yoru didn't answer. He leaned back in his chair instead, eyes unfocused, clearly chewing on thoughts Sunny had no access to.
Sunny shook his head and turned his attention back to the glorious sight in front of him.
After agonising far longer than was reasonable over how exactly one was supposed to approach two dangerous Awakened girls - actually, just one - without getting skewered, Sunny finally ordered his shadow to step out of hiding.
What followed was… peculiar.
A shadow waving awkwardly.
A half-naked girl instantly drawing her sword and aiming it at said shadow.
And a blind girl standing calmly in the middle of it all, entirely unaware of the silent standoff unfolding around her.
It was, without question, one of the strangest reunions Sunny had ever been part of.
***
'Great this is great. Wonderful even... But seriously! What in the Spell is happening!'
Yoru had expected a long harrowing journey - one filled with pain, terror, and desperate battles - in his search for Nephis and Cassie.
Instead, they had shown up on their own. Alive. Mostly unharmed.
His mind struggled to understand why the girls weren't here in the first place and what exactly changed to make them disappear for a day, but eventually... He gave up.
If he spent his time carefully considering why every little thing diverged from the canon he'd drive himself insane.
'My presence alone is probably enough to warp things,' He thought wryly.
Now, Nephis and Cassie were atop the hill along with himself and Sunny.
The four of them stood in a circle facing each other, with the exception of Yoru who sat with one leg over the other instead.
"Well," he said lightly, "this is lovely. Nice to see you again, Nephis. Cassie."
Cassie turned toward his voice, her unfocused gaze settling on him.
"Yoru? You're here too?"
"Unfortunately," he replied. "Also, I lost an arm."
Cassie stiffened.
"That's not funny."
"He's telling the truth," Nephis said calmly, studying him as if he'd always been missing one.
Cassie flushed. Her expression shifted into dismay.
"Oh really? Im so sorry Yoru... Ah! Perhaps-!"
Before Cassie could finish her sentence, Nephis quickly intervened.
"We camped on this hill previously... i'm surprised we never ran into each other."
Sunny perked up at this.
"We camped on a tall cliff to the west of here. Well, it's actually a statue. Anyways, we spotted an orange light and instead of staying hidden we decided to head towards it."
Nephis paused for a moment recollecting her thoughts and nodded.
"We lit a fire but that was a regrettable choice..."
Sunny raised an eyebrow, surprised.
"Why?"
The blind girl touched her hair and turned her head to Nephis.
"At night, any light will attract monsters. We were attacked by scavengers first. And then… then…"
She paled and didn't finish. But she didn't have to.
The group lapsed into silence once again.
Yoru cleared his throat.
"So… are you two hungry?"
He didn't wait for an answer. With a snap of his fingers, several potatoes appeared.
Sunny stared at the food in his hand, scandalised.
"Hold on. I thought you could only summon jerky?"
"Correct," Yoru said calmly. "I can only summon jerky for you. How could I possibly offer these lovely ladies something so plebeian?"
He shook his head.
"Honestly, Sunny. Where's your chivalry?"
Sunny scoffed and raised his sword dangerously.
"There's not a chivalrous bone in my body, bastard."
Nephis stepped forward and accepted the potatoes from Yoru's remaining hand.
"Thank you."
Yoru smiled warmly.
Internally, he screamed.
'Why hasn't this damned blowtorch healed me yet?!'
She had clearly noticed the missing arm. So what, exactly, was she waiting for?
Consent?
However, the answer was painfully obvious…
Nephis still didn't trust him.
Revealing his knowledge of the Sovereigns had backfired spectacularly. To her, he was a potential threat, perhaps even an agent sent to eliminate her.
But she must've realised how perilous their situation was. If she didn't heal Yoru then the cohort would basically be down to a duo, given Cassie's severely crippling flaw.
Healing him was the logical choice yet she hesitated.
Yoru's only option was to wait for her to share information on her aspect and ask to be healed from there.
'The problem child strikes again,' He thought.
"-No, I'm not 'the pervert,'" Sunny said dryly.
"I'm Sunless. But you can call me Sunny."
Yoru blinked, realizing he'd missed introductions entirely.
"And I'm Yoru," he added cheerfully. "The one-armed genie."
They settled into an uneven circle. Cassie sat cross-legged on the stone. Nephis remained standing, relaxed but alert whilst Sunny leaned against a rock. Yoru stayed in his chair, unwilling to part from it.
They began their meals of potatoes and various other food items which Yoru managed to procure and ate in relative peace.
When the last scraps were gone, Sunny broke the silence and got straight to business.
"Since we're going to be depending on each other, should we share what abilities and Memories we have at our disposal?"