Chapter Summary: Nephis considers the merits of throwing fans down the stairs.
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The Government issues the first war bonds of the Antarctic campaign. Invest today to defend humanity! — The New Government's News
Supreme Anvil delivers! First wave of promised equipment reaches the front lines. — The Herald of Steel
Clan Song unveils strengthening potions to bolster troops in the Fight Against the Nightmare Chain.Estimated survival chances have gone up by 100%! — The Raven's Feather
Where is Saint Sunless? Public outcry grows as his disappearance remains unexplained — The Unfiltered Quill
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Nephis settled into the high-backed chair and leaned back, considering everything she had learned the day before.
"Had a productive day?" Cassie asked curiously.
"Yes," she answered absent-mindedly.
A childish pout appeared on the Seer's beautiful face. "Aren't you going to elaborate?"
The other woman had remained in the city to handle the administrative tasks instead of joining them in handling the Gate, which meant that she was out of the loop about what Nephis had found out. Though a part of Nephis couldn't help but wonder if Cassie was just trying to hide her true power instead.
"Weren't you watching?"
"I saw you glaring at a Nightmare Creature for hours on end, and nothing else."
Nephis let out an exhausted sigh at the mere memory. In truth, she wasn't that tired, even at this early hour, but all the discoveries she had made the previous day, as she performed test after test, had left her mind full of troubling thoughts that had kept her awake long past midnight.
They hadn't gone away even now.
"Do you want the short or the long version?" she asked, wishing her coffee would arrive already.
"Let's start with the short one," Cassie answered immediately.
Nephis ran a hand across her face, brushing aside the strand of hair that obscured her vision, before finally taking a proper look at the petite woman.
Cassie was seated in a high-backed chair of her own at the other end of the table. Unlike Nephis, she looked perfectly ready to face the day. She wore an armor Memory -a flowing blue battle dress of the sort their family favored- with effortless elegance, not a single crease marring the fabric. Her hair, too, had already been brushed, so meticulously that not a single strand was out of place.
If Nephis didn't know better, she would have thought that the other woman was about to attend a high-class event.
Nephis summoned her silencing Memory and, after making sure there was no one lurking in hiding using her desire sense, activated it.
"I can induce Nightmare Creatures into my Domain with [Hopebringer]," she said without preamble.
Cassie did not react for a long moment, her body perfectly still, her blind eyes hidden behind her blindfold and staring straight ahead without flinching. Then, as if a switch had been flipped, she leaned back in her chair, her expression thoughtful.
"That shouldn't be possible," the blonde woman said with forced calm.
For all her composure, Nephis could still feel Cassie's desires as clearly as day, and they had just gone wild at that answer.
"It's what happened," Nephis answered calmly.
"Are you completely sure?" Cassie insisted.
"I am."
The Seer fell silent once more, her face scrunched up in concentration as she pondered the matter.
"How?"
"I plant seeds of hope in a target's soul, just as I normally would. Once they've flourished enough, the target automatically becomes part of my Domain." Nephis frowned. "I suspect it's a synergy between the Attribute and my Domain, rather than the Attribute itself. Those I inspire to pursue their desires become part of it, while the hope I kindle in my targets allows the seeds to awaken a desire in them to pursue their own desires as well."
Cassie tapped the table as she thought. "Can you do it to anyone?"
"I can, but will it work on someone who isn't significantly weaker than I am? No." Nephis shook her head for emphasis. "The time and essence required simply aren't worth the effort. A target only becomes part of my Domain once the seed reaches critical mass, and even the weakest Saint or Corrupted creature should be able to detect and destroy it long before that happens."
"Do the seeds spread?" Cassie asked next, sounding genuinely eager to know.
"No, it's one of the first things I tested. I have to plant every seed manually," Nephis answered, and despite herself, she felt relieved by that.
The idea of becoming a self-replicating plague that would eventually turn everyone weaker than her into an almost fanatical follower of hers, the kind who would require extreme circumstances to break free of her influence...
Nephis didn't like it. No, it was more accurate to say she hated it.
"Is there a limit to how many of them you can plant?" Cassie leaned forward in interest. "I remember you planting them in most of the higher echelons of Clan Song when Ki Song made us attend that ridiculous ceremony, but those were dozens at best."
Nephis shrugged. "It depends only on the amount of essence I have on hand at the moment. If I run out, I can just wait to replenish it before continuing."
Cassie seemed more interested with each answer, her frown lessening as her body language became more relaxed. Looking at her, Nephis almost thought that she had just given her a lifeline in a capsizing boat.
"Have you noticed anything wrong with those Nightmare Creatures being part of your Domain?" the Seer asked suddenly, as though she had just thought of that.
A sardonic smile spread across Nephis's lips. "I suspect anyone without my [Longing] would eventually become corrupted due to the way the connection we share works, but fortunately, I am not just anyone."
Cassie rubbed her chin in thought. "That's convenient. Very convenient."
"Too convenient, even."
"You think Hope planned for this?" the other woman inquired.
"I don't merely think so. I'm certain of it," Nephis replied without hesitation. "All Divine beings can gaze into Fate, and I find it hard to believe she would grant me something this valuable without giving it considerable thought. An ability that offers me a simple solution to the problem of my shrinking Domain. One I can even use on Nightmare Creatures, so I won't hesitate too much over the moral implications. And so far, the only drawback I've discovered is one I'm immune to."
They fell temporarily silent at that, both of them thinking about what it entailed.
Nephis gritted her teeth at the memory it brought to the forefront: the Daemon of Desire touching her forehead and granting her the Attribute with such terrifying ease. The memory still burned bright in her mind, and what followed had ensured that she would never forget it.
What was her angle? What was the true intent behind Hope's seemingly whimsical choice to grant her this Attribute? Where was the catch?
"Will you use it?" Cassie asked, breaking her out of her thoughts.
"I'm still thinking about it," Nephis answered noncommittally.
"Neph—"
"That's my answer for now," Nephis interrupted in a tone that brooked no argument.
Cassie sighed. "Very well."
Fortunately, before an uncomfortable silence could spread around the room, there was a knock on the door.
Nephis dismissed the silencing Memory, then called for the person on the other side to enter. A woman stepped into the room, pushing a cart filled with plates of fruit, sweets, and toast, as well as drinks like coffee and tea.
Nephis eyed the empty spots around the table as the assistant started placing everything on it. Normally, the whole Cohort would be present, but this time, they had decided to visit one of the local cafés instead. They had asked her to join them, but given how unpopular she was nowadays, she had decided against it and insisted that they go without her. Cassie, suffering from the same bout of unpopularity, had refused as well.
When the woman finished her task, she gave them a polite nod. Then, after giving Nephis an odd stare that she couldn't quite place, she left the room without saying anything.
Despite how appetizing her coffee smelled, Nephis decided to err on the side of caution.
"Water, reveal your secrets," she whispered.
The liquid in her cup started speaking to her, patiently listing every single step that had taken place during its brewing.
Checking her drinks and food whenever neither she nor someone she completely trusted had prepared them was a habit she had learned to follow as a child. And now that she could speak directly to them through Shaping, it had become even easier to do so.
It didn't take long for her to reach a verdict.
"Don't drink or eat anything. The coffee is poisoned," she said calmly.
Cassie looked down at her fragrant pot of tea, from which she had already started pouring herself a cup. Disappointment spread across her face as she pushed it away.
"How bad is it?" the blonde woman asked.
"Bad for anyone who's not Awakened," Nephis answered succinctly. "Can you tell who sent her?"
The Seer sighed, then her face took on the expression that indicated she was using her Aspect to peer into the past, present, and future. It always made for a strange sight, the way she grew completely still as she did so.
A mere minute later, Cassie was done, and life seemed to return to her.
"No one sent her."
"Why, then?" Nephis asked, curious about the reason behind this.
The Seer hesitated for a moment before answering. "She used to be a fan of yours. The rabid kind. And then she found out about what you did and decided that you had personally betrayed her."
Nephis nodded without saying anything.
A scorned fan was, among the long list of enemies she had, the least of her worries. It was, however, a symptom of a bigger, more deeply rooted disease.
She couldn't find it in herself to care before, and she couldn't do so now.
Not about the terrible reputation that even now her enemies -and even Ki Song, she suspected- were working hard to make worse. Not about the diminishing of her nascent Domain, a problem for which she now conveniently had a solution. Nor did she care about what people thought of her.
Years. That was how long she had spent building up her image. Charity work, free healing in hospitals, personally participating in the closing of Gates, and a thousand other things. All to paint herself as a paragon of humanity and gain the public's approval.
All of that had gone down the drain in a matter of days, practically erased overnight. Just like that.
In truth, if she had no one but herself to worry about, she would have written it off as a lost cause. What was the point of putting effort into building something that the Sovereigns could so easily tear down?
However, she did have other people to worry about. People who, even now, stood by her side. Which meant that she couldn't keep acting like this. The veil of apathy she had draped over herself was comfortable, soothing, peaceful, almost enough to make her forget the rage flowing through her veins and the way the beast within roared without end.
But as much as she didn't want to tear the veil off, it was time to do so. For their sake, if not her own.
"Will she try again?" Nephis asked, her tone frosty.
"Yes," Cassie answered almost immediately. "She will almost succeed on one occasion."
"Then I will make sure she won't have the chance to," Nephis decided.
It wouldn't be hard. A simple order would have her imprisoned, and if that didn't prove enough to stop her, a whisper of the name of the Wind, and the mundane woman would tumble down the stairs to her certain death.
"I can do it—"
"No. I will handle it," Nephis interrupted sharply.
She wasn't going to be like the Sovereigns, making her followers soil their hands so that she could pretend hers were clean. If she was going to pass judgment over someone, then she would at least have the decency to carry it out herself.
Silence settled over the room at her words.
What more was there to say? She had made her decision, and there was no coming back from it.
As it turned out, Cassie did have something to say.
"Do you blame me?"
Nephis turned back toward the Seer in surprise, the words having caught her completely off guard.
The blonde woman was looking at her so intensely that Nephis could practically feel her blind eyes drilling into her from behind the blindfold she always wore. Her body language conveyed uncertainty and somber resignation at the same time.
"About what?" Nephis asked just to make sure.
"Everything," Cassie replied.
Nephis leaned back in her chair, her eyes fixed on the ceiling, choosing to consider her answer carefully before giving it.
It was a loaded question, the kind she didn't want to answer at a moment like this. The kind for which there was never a good moment. And the kind that must have been eating at her friend for a long time now.
"I didn't use to," Nephis began, her voice calm and soothing. "In truth. For a long time, I still saw you as that lost, terrified girl I found on the Forgotten Shore. Whenever I thought about what had happened, that memory of you would come rushing back. Crying and clinging to me desperately, as though I were the only thing in the world that didn't want you dead. You became my first friend, someone I came to love -and still love- like a sister. And yet, even as our bond grew, I couldn't stop seeing you as that same frightened girl. The girl I had to protect from the world because I believed no one else would."
Cassie gulped, the sound coming out strained, as though she were holding back deeper emotion from surfacing.
"I never blamed you. I considered it. In my worst moments, I truly did. But I never really blamed you. You put the sword in my hand, but I am the one who chose to swing it, after all." Nephis took a deep breath before continuing. "I still saw you as that girl. Flailing about, desperately trying to make yourself useful lest you be abandoned, trying to do everything you could to steer things toward a better end with the few choices available to you."
"And now...?" Cassie asked, fear coloring her voice.
"Now..." A hint of bitterness entered Nephis's voice. "I do. Or rather, I blame us both. I blame myself for what I did and for continuing to see you as just that frightened girl, and I blame you for what you did and continue to do."
"What other choice do I have?" Cassie retorted almost immediately.
Nephis did not flinch. "You are no longer that girl, Cassie. You haven't been for a long time now. You know more than you will ever let on. You have the power to stand on your own two feet. To manipulate events as you see fit. There are countless choices you can make. And meanwhile, you keep expecting us to accept that fact without thinking twice. You ask us to trust you completely when you refuse to do the same."
"I—"
"Maybe you are right. Maybe you really are taking the correct course of action at every turn. But you know what?" She didn't wait for the other girl to answer before continuing. "I cannot tell because you refuse to say what the other options were."
"It would be—"
"Worse if you told me. I know. You keep saying that," Nephis interrupted. "This, too, I cannot judge because you refuse to share."
Cassie reeled back as though she had just been slapped, almost falling off her chair.
"Then what would you do in my place? What would you do if you knew everything I do and how many things could go wrong if I so much as uttered a single word I shouldn't?" she asked in a defensive tone.
A moment later, Nephis noticed two darkening patches on the girl's blindfold, directly over her eyes.
She resisted the urge to stand up and embrace the crying girl. Her emotions were sincere; Nephis could tell that much. And still, she couldn't rule out that this, too, was an attempt to manipulate her.
"How about trusting me, Cassie?" she asked with more frustration than she had intended. "Telling me what you are going to do? Confiding in me the way I confide in you? Giving me a warning at least? Have you considered that?"
The girl's shoulders shook as the patches grew darker. "I... I can't. I just can't."
Nephis paused at that answer, disappointed and furious at the same time despite having expected it.
"I once heard that the definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result."
Cassie hiccuped, a shaky attempt at a smile drawn across her lips. "Are you calling me mad now?"
"Is there any other way to put it?" Nephis shook her head. "How many times have you been caught off guard? How many times have you had to scramble to find a solution at the last possible moment? How many more times will it take for you to accept that you're not in control? That you can't control everything?"
Silence fell over the room.
It lasted for an uncomfortably long time as Nephis stared down at Cassie, awaiting her answer.
She didn't want to do this. Didn't want to distrust her friend the way she was doing, the way she would have to continue doing. And yet, she left her no other choice.
The silence stretched until, eventually, Cassie regained her composure. She pushed her blindfold up to wipe her eyes, then, with slow, methodical movements, put it back down.
"As many as it takes until I really am in control," the Seer answered.
Nephis closed her eyes and took a deep breath, if only to keep herself from snapping at her.
"You would be dead if I hadn't intervened. Not even a week has passed, and you've already forgotten about it?"
"I haven't," Cassie answered sharply. "But it doesn't change anything. I will make it up to both of you."
"By doing the same thing you're trying to apologize for?" She asked coldly.
Silence ensued once more, this time seeming final.
Nephis pushed down her disappointment and the anger rearing up its ugly head, then stood up and started walking toward the door.
"When you're finally ready to speak, I'll be there to listen." She paused right at the threshold, then turned one last time to look in Cassie's direction. "Don't expect me to save you again when the consequences of your actions catch up with you. Not until you do."
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Nephis pointed at the holographic map hovering above the table as she continued explaining.
"—things are stable right now, but they are set to become far more dangerous very soon. In this patch of land, for example, three different Gates are predicted to open simultaneously today."
Saint Jet frowned, her icy blue eyes fixed on the map as she studied it and the myriad red dots representing the Gates predicted to open within the week.
Despite having arrived only the previous day, late into the night, the older woman was already hard at work catching up with the situation. The Government forces she had brought with her were spreading throughout the Antarctic Center as they spoke, reinforcing the least-defended cities and officially kick-starting the evacuations.
"You already have an answer for this, I assume," Jet said, tearing her gaze away from the map to look Nephis in the eyes.
"Correct. I've already dispatched Dark Dancer and Beastmaster to handle it, along with a cohort of Awakened," Nephis answered calmly.
"Isn't that too much for three Category Two Gates?" Morgan prodded.
The lost princess of war, as many had taken to calling her, was seated between Jet and Nephis, casually leaning back in her chair with one foot resting atop the table. For all intents and purposes, she looked completely uninterested in the debriefing, as though she couldn't be bothered to pay attention.
Nephis wasn't fooled for even a moment.
Morgan wouldn't have come all the way to Antarctica after proclaiming herself independent if she weren't looking for something. Even if that something was simply proving herself against the world.
"Normally, I would agree. However, there have already been three separate instances of a Gate being a higher tier than expected, so I decided to err on the side of caution while things are still relatively calm," Nephis explained.
"I agree with her decision," Jet said calmly, still studying the map.
Part of Nephis was surprised by such an easy acceptance of her choice. If she was honest, she had expected a fight to break out between the two of them from the very moment the meeting began, and yet the other Saint had given no indication that she had any such intentions. If anything, she was being more cooperative than ever.
Though whether that was out of professionalism or because she was biding her time remained to be seen.
Leaving the thought for later, Nephis pressed a button on the terminal. The holographic map changed, the red dots fading away and highlighting the cities spread across the Antarctic Center instead.
"Which brings me to my next proposal." She pointed at five different cities, tracing a line across the map that linked them in an almost straight line. "Erebus Field, Borealis Crown, Vesper Station, Sentinel City, and Falcon Scott. These are the main cities we have to protect, stretching from Erebus Field down in the south to Falcon Scott up here in the north."
"What do you propose?" Jet inquired.
Before Nephis could answer, she heard a contemplative noise coming from between them. She turned in time to see the princess of war rubbing her chin thoughtfully as she studied the line.
"She wants us to split up," Morgan said with complete certainty. "Currently, we have five Saints permanently stationed here: Saints Jet, Beastmaster, Dark Dancer, Changing Star, and, of course, me. Each of us takes charge of one of these cities, which we can use as a staging point from which to respond to any Gate opening within our respective regions of influence. At the same time, each city is close enough to the next Saint's position for us to provide assistance or receive it in an emergency."
Nephis nodded in her direction. She didn't particularly like the woman, but she couldn't deny that her strategic mind was sound.
"Correct." She pointed at Erebus Field first, then at Borealis Crown. "As the evacuations in each area are completed, we can begin retreating farther north, gradually concentrating our forces until they're all once again stationed behind the walls of this city."
Soul Reaper contemplated the explanation for a long moment, studying the map with care in search of anything she could have missed before coming to a decision.
"Very well," Jet agreed. "I'll take Falcon Scott, then. As the field marshal, I have to remain here to continue coordinating the efforts between the two landmasses."
The woman looked at Nephis then, icy blue eyes meeting steely gray, almost daring her to dispute the decision. There was a certain prestige to be gained from being Falcon Scott's defender. It was both the biggest and the most important city in the Antarctic Center, after all. Not to mention the leverage it would give her in any negotiations.
Nephis had no intention of disputing it.
"I'll take Vesper Station," Nephis said calmly. "As the strongest and most mobile among us, I'm better off remaining in the center so I can respond more quickly in an emergency."
Morgan bristled visibly at that remark, her vermilion eyes burning with challenge, as if she wanted to dispute the notion that Nephis was the strongest Saint present right then and there. She almost looked ready to do so before a cold stare from Jet made her think twice and look away.
"I'll take Erebus Field," the lost princess of war said, sounding almost morose.
Whatever agreement the two women had reached must have been quite something. Jet had come here with only Morgan as an ally against three Song Saints instead of bringing another Government Saint with her, after all.
Nephis didn't particularly care, as long as Jet kept Morgan in check.
"I'll tell Eunbin and Revel to choose whichever of the two remaining cities they want, then."
After that, they continued discussing the practicalities of the operation: the doctrine they would follow, when to stand their ground and when to withdraw, and how to request assistance if things went wrong. They also worked out alternative ways to maintain contact once their communications inevitably failed. There were countless other details to settle, and they went through them all, determined to leave as little as possible to chance.
By the end of it, hours after the debriefing had begun, they were all exhausted and in sore need of something to drink.
While Jet and Morgan partook of the refreshments brought in by the staff, Nephis, still thinking about what had happened that morning, decided against having any.
Instead, she summoned a Memory.
A moment later, a canteen materialized in her grasp, its black body contrasting with the gray cap. It was sturdy and well-made, though otherwise unremarkable, the sort of equipment anyone could pick up at a survival shop. It was her reward for winning that flying race, what felt like a lifetime ago, even though it had barely been more than a week.
It was named [Endless-less Spring]. She remembered cringing when she read the name, followed by Sunny's offended reaction and a rant about how complicated it had been to weave. That had then turned into boasting as he proclaimed that, while it wasn't unlimited, he had filled it with enough water to last her for years.
Nephis had once made an idle comment, months ago, about how convenient the [Endless Spring] was and how she wished she had one, too, and had never thought about it again. As it turned out, he had remembered. A pale smile spread across her face as she recalled how he had sputtered indignantly when she kissed him on the cheek to thank him.
She looked back at the black canteen after she finished drinking, and the smile disappeared.
Just a week...
Nephis forced herself to stop thinking about it and dismissed the Memory.
She noticed that Jet was looking at her at that very moment, evaluating and analyzing her as though trying to solve a puzzle for which she was missing most of the pieces.
"Can I help you?" Nephis asked, if only to get the older woman to stop staring at her like that.
"No. I was just wondering when you intend to depart," Jet said.
Instead of calling her out on the obvious lie and dealing with the discussion that was sure to follow, Nephis decided to answer.
"Tomorrow at the latest. I've already given my forces the order to prepare."
Jet snorted. "You sure don't waste time."
"Why would I? The Chain of Nightmares doesn't."
For a moment, it looked as though Soul Reaper wanted to dispute her words, but then she seemed to think better of it. She shook her head and shrugged, almost as if to say, I don't like it, but I can't disagree, either.
"I wanted to speak with you, but I guess that can wait."
Nephis nodded noncommittally.
The talks resumed soon afterward, and they continued well into the afternoon as they planned for one scenario after another until they were, if not satisfied, then at least content that they had done as much as they could under the circumstances.
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Nephis walked into the office with her usual poise, her back straight and her steps measured, every movement carrying an effortless elegance. She crossed the room without sparing its tasteful furnishings more than a passing glance before settling into the chair opposite the desk.
The person following behind her hesitated for a moment, seemingly expecting Nephis to take the lead and claim the seat behind the desk herself. Only after a brief, awkward pause did the aged woman finally move around it and sit down.
Nephis rolled her eyes inwardly.
She wasn't Ki Song, with her constant need to turn even the most mundane interactions into petty power plays. If the mayor wanted to sit behind her own desk, she was welcome to do so.
"I would like to welcome you once again, Lady Nephis. It is an honor to have you here, personally protecting Vesper Station."
Nephis inclined her head politely, allowing the mayor to continue.
The aged woman launched into a well-rehearsed speech about the city's gratitude, the privilege of hosting one of humanity's greatest champions, and the hope that her presence would inspire among the citizens. Her tone was warm and respectful, her words carefully chosen to convey just the right amount of reverence without crossing into outright flattery.
Nephis listened for a while before losing interest. She had heard variations of the same speech so many times that she could practically recite it herself. At least the mayor had the decency to keep the ceremony confined to her office instead of turning it into a public spectacle as it had happened in Falcon Scott.
Still, there was only so much pointless pleasantry Nephis was willing to endure. Especially when she had spent the past few days traversing the cold Antarctic expanse to reach the city.
She let her gaze wander idly across the room, taking in its details without appearing particularly interested in any of them. The windows, the furniture, the door through which they had entered. Everything seemed to be in order.
Nephis' expression remained serene as she finally decided that she had indulged the charade long enough.
"How much longer are you going to wait before showing yourself?" she asked, tilting her head slightly toward a patch of seemingly empty air.
The mayor flinched, looking at her with incomprehension.
"What do you mean, Lady Nephis?" the aged woman asked, her carefully maintained composure slipping for the briefest of moments.
Nephis didn't bother looking at the thrall. Her gaze remained fixed on the same spot, patient and unwavering, as though she could spend the rest of her life doing just that.
For several seconds, nothing happened. Several more passed without a change.
The silence stretched until even the mayor seemed uncertain whether she should speak again. Nephis, however, didn't move. She simply waited, her expression betraying no sign of impatience.
Then, at last, the air began to shimmer.
A faint distortion appeared where she had been staring, so subtle that it might have been mistaken for a trick of the light. Slowly, the outline of a person emerged from the empty space, their silhouette growing more distinct by the moment as the camouflage Memory concealing them was deactivated.
The figure's features gradually came into view, followed by a familiar pair of golden eyes that seemed to shine with an almost unnatural brilliance.
Asterion smiled at her. "You really are no fun, little Nephie."