"Sunny, what are you guys hiding from me?"
The tower groaned above them. A distant stone crashed to the floor. But here, in this small crumbling world, silence hung heavy.
Sunny stopped walking.
His shoulders tensed. His face, always so easy with a smirk or sneer, twitched with something afraid. He was pale at the best of times, but something drained the color from his face.
He didn't answer yet.
"What are you so afraid of me finding out?" Kallen asked.
Sunny looked at Nephis, eyes wide and jaw clenched. There was a pained expression on his face as he tried to hold something back, but with every passing moment, it seemed more sure that he would fold.
"We…"
A strange noise left his mouth. He was fighting his flaw.
Sunny stole another glance at Nephis before the words were finally forced out of him. "Nephis cannot fix your sister's soul." He exhaled sharply, then was forced further. "It's not something she thinks can be healed."
Kallen stood still. "What? Why not?"
"She can't save Seren," Sunny whispered. "She thinks… even if she awakens or becomes a master that it's beyond her. It was beyond your clan elders after all…"
Kallen didn't move. His lips parted slightly, eyes dull with confusion. Not anger yet. Not pain yet. Only confusion for now.
"What is he talking about?" he asked, softly. "What does that mean?"
Sunny didn't reply; the question was not directed at him. He looked away.
Kallen's breath stuttered. He laughed as if it were a joke, then turned toward Nephis. She swayed on her feet, too exhausted to speak, but not too far gone to meet his gaze. Her eyes said everything; they told the full story. No denial and no defiance. Guilt and determination.
"No." Kallen shook his head, the word a reflex. "No. That's not… that's not what this was. You said—"
Neither spoke.
Kallen took a step back. Another. He looked from Sunny to Nephis, as if they'd suddenly become strangers.
"You knew," he said, barely audible. "You both knew and you let me—" his voice cracked. "You let me give up… you were going to let me stay behind to die… "
The pace of his heart quickened and a few choked breaths came from his healed chest. "You stood there and watched me make that choice like it meant something, like it mattered!"
Neither of them answered.
"You had no right!" Kallen roared, suddenly, the dam breaking all at once. "You had no right to do that to us!"
Lightning screamed down from the broken heavens. A glowing trident appeared in his hands with a crack of thunder. Wind spiraled around him, howling with fury as the storm he'd held in check finally broke free.
"Kallen," Sunny said, a hand raised. He crouched low to the ground, summoning his sword with a trembling hand. "Don't do something you can't take back."
But Kallen's expression twisted into a bitter, heartbroken grimace. "You already did."
The trident slammed down between them, a crack of lightning splitting the dais. Stones scattered. Nephis staggered.
"Everything I did was for her," Kallen seethed. "Every compromise. Every betrayal. Every hell-forsaken nightmare I crawled through. And you…" he laughed. "You let me do it, knowing she was already gone."
Another ragged bolt streaked through the broken spire, illuminating the crazed, anguished fury that burned Kallen raw.
"You think you're better than the monsters you hate? You would stay behind to clean your conscience, but that's all it was, wasn't it? A performance. So you could keep pretending?"
Nephis didn't move. She stood there, her shoulders trembling from exhaustion. Her eyes glistening. For her part, at least she looked guilty, but it didn't matter. Nothing did.
"We didn't want to…" Sunny took a careful step forward, hand still outstretched, not in comfort—but in the way you might try to calm something feral. His other hand never left the sword. He spoke like a friend, but prepared for a threat.
"Oh! You didn't want to?" Kallen leveled the trident at Sunny. It shook with sudden electric fury. Kallen felt his body giving out by merely wielding the thing. "Because wanting to is cruel, isn't it?"
Sunny flinched. "Just calm—"
"Or was it just the more efficient choice? The logical choice?" Kallen's lips curled as he looked past Sunny to Nephis, pointing the humming weapon at her this time. "You've played god with my life. With Seren's."
Behind him, the portal flicked out, then shimmered with a faint spark. It was on its last legs.
"Kallen…"
"Back up, Sunny."
The tower shook and the pale boy took another cautious step forward.
Kallen waved his trident, pointing it at both of them as though it were a loaded gun and he didn't know who to shoot. There was a brief moment of hesitation and he nearly fired. "Stay back, Lost From—" He stopped. Then, "Stay back, Sunny. Don't make me do something else I can't take back."
The boy's eyes went wide. He stood still for a moment.
Kallen turned, not bothering to spare him a glance. He approached the steps of the dais and made it to the circle of runes. Then he crossed the iron rings. No words were spoken as he did so. There was no profound, solemn feeling that came over him as he left his two friends to die.
Just betrayal. Just anger. Just fear. Just pain.
A bright glow enveloped Kallen. The glow grew so bright that his human figure couldn't be properly seen. And then he disappeared, leaving his mark on the cursed land.
It was once said that, "On this Forgotten Shore, only steel remembers." But the tide remembered too, and it did not easily forget.
~~~
A few minutes ago…
Seren
"I'm sorry," Kallen said, shoving Seren through the portal.
She didn't even have a moment to think before the bright light enveloped her. There wasn't time to ponder that look on his face, or why he was staying behind, or why he looked so grim.
But it was obvious. Or at least, she thought it was.
He was staying behind. Wasn't he? To help Nephis and Sunny… or something.
She didn't know.
~~~
Seren found herself in the endless space between dream and reality. A familiar black void. The nightmare spell.
It was neither comforting, nor anxiety inducing, but left with her thoughts…
Kallen? Sunny? Nephis?
Would her brother make it out? Would her cherished companions make it out? What would she do if they didn't? She had an attribute that let her know where Kallen was at all times; let her know if he was alive.
But what was the difference between being stuck in the Forgotten Shore and being dead?
Peace, she thought. That was the difference. Someone dead could at least rest, knowing that their nightmare was over.
Someone on the Forgotten Shore was destined to struggle until the bitter end. Just as the First Bright Lord had. Would Kallen, as the next Bright Lord in line suffer that same terrible fate.
Was it because of my flaw?
Before she could continue down that road, the Spell spoke, its sonorous voice filling the void of black nothingness.
[The Second Seal is broken.]
[Awakening dormant powers…]
Just as it had when she completed the First Nightmare, Seren felt something strange within her soul. A heat spread through her, energy circulating, changing, reinforcing, and tempering.
She closed her eyes and focused through both the pain and euphoria, just as Master Naeve had taught her.
It was a difficult sensation to capture, but she felt the natural transformation with every fiber of her being. As though she were progressing in both body and mind. Being forged into something better.
Awakening.
Eventually, the warmth receded and cooled, leaving a dull ache inside.
But the pleasantness did nothing to drown out the fear and worry within. The once in a lifetime feeling had been sullied.
Seren opened her eyes.
She felt stronger and faster. Better. The change was immediately noticeable, even despite her not flexing this newfound prowess.
Her body felt more capable and more complete. There was a certain essence that filled her. Soul Essence. The ethereal energy that all Awakened could sense, interact with, and draw from. She felt that it circulated her, coming and going from her core like blood would a heart.
Though it was sluggish and unrefined… it was still real. Undeniably real and hers to control. And master.
Then the spell spoke again.
[You have been bestowed a True Name: Light of the Last Horizon.]
Seren's brow pinched. A true name? What—
[Awakening Aspect Ability…]
[...Aspect Ability acquired.]
[Aspect Ability Name: Starlight Ward.]
Ability Description: [Glimmering sigils shimmer where your will touches. Distance bends and time blinks. As a shining star stitched into the fabric of fate, you are always where you need to be. For better. Or for worse.]
[Wake up, Seren!]
~~~
Seren rose slowly, taking her time to adjust to the new environment. She was in the Awakened Academy… back in the real world.
She glanced around, seeing various medical instruments and machines hooked up to her sleeping pod, all blaring and flashing their lights. Soon a shrill noise filled the entire hall she was in.
Immediately, Seren summoned a familiar suit of armor, both humanoid and arachnid in its design.
Widow's Mantle. The tier 4 Awakened Armor Kallen had given her right before the assault on the crimson spire.
Frankly, Kallen scared the hell out of her when he wore it, so she was thankful that it was in her possession and wrapped around her body instead. Now, she didn't have to see its terrifying mask. She didn't have to remember that ambush every time she saw him wear it.
A shudder raced down Seren's spine as she carefully placed her feet on the ground.
To her surprise, there was already a doctor in the room.
"Hello," she said, "Umm, can I go see my brother, please?"
The woman gave a blank, wide eyed stare. "You're… Miss Seren you're actually awake…"
Seren hummed a half-minded response and asked to see her brother once more.
The nurse denied her request, but in her defense, the hospital complex of the Academy was not in a controlled state at all.
In fact, since it was already a busy time for them—with the solstice so soon—they were busy handling all kinds of new Awakened.
Pair that with the eight hundred or so that had sieged the spire…
It was a nightmare on earth. The sudden awakening of so many who had been gone for two, three, four plus years, and were counted as lost, sent a wave of panic through the unprepared academy.
But before long, Seren was sitting in a small office, conversing with a young woman.
"Your brother…" the woman said, glancing at the device in front of her. "It appears he's still asleep… would you mind conversing with me for a few moments while you wait for him?"
Seren nodded slowly.
"Care to tell me what happened, Awakened Seren?"
"I… um. Sure. My brother Kallen… well we had to challenge the tower and… and no one could find him, so Sunny went after him."
"I see. Anything else." The woman hadn't the faintest clue what Seren was talking about, but she jotted down notes nonetheless.
"He came back, but Sunny wasn't with him… I think Sunny went to go help Nephis—"
"The last daughter of Immortal Flame?" The woman asked. "Lady Nephis?"
Seren nodded. "Yes. I was… actually she was my friend. We were in the same cohort. But, Kallen pushed me through the gateway, so I didn't see where he went… but I think he went to go help Sunny and Nephis with… well I am not sure."
The woman leaned in, taking notes more consciously, seemingly very interested in the parts about Nephis and Kallen.
"And this Sunny, who exactly was he?"
It took a few moments before Seren spoke. "He was also one of my party members. He was Nephis's best friend. Well, him and Cassie… they—I mean, we…
Seren backtracked.
"We were all separated at the start and we were in this big dark sea."
The woman nodded along.
"And I was on an island, and my echo—ah, my brother's echo that he gave me—took me away and flew me to safety. There I found Nephis, Sunny, and Cassie. And the four of us traveled across the dark sea until we found the human settlement."
"I… I see," the woman said. "My superiors will ask for a more formal report… but I am here to talk if you need it, Awakened Seren."
It felt weird to be called an Awakened. "Um, I'd rather see my brother when he wakes up… if he wakes up."
"I understand Miss," the woman said. "We'll be able to let you go soon… but I'm going to have to transfer you to one of my superiors. I'm checking my files here and you seem to have… a higher designation than I am permitted to handle."
Seren frowned as the woman gave a tight lipped smile and shuffled out of the room. Not even a minute had passed before an older gentleman walked into the room, carrying a set of folded clothes.
"Hello, Miss Seren," he said. There was this easy sort of air about him. His graying beard was soft, and there was a pleasant head of black hair that fell just above his aging eyes. His smile was warm and inviting.
"Hi."
"I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize, young lady. We weren't expecting something this—" he allowed a small chuckle. "Chaotic, for lack of a more appropriate term."
Seren responded with a nod. "It's okay."
"The change in personnel was not meant to scare or alarm you, we merely need a person with a different set of… ah, clearance to debrief someone of your status."
Seren frowned. "My status?"
"Your status as Daelan's granddaughter," he clarified. "You grandfather… Saint Daelan is a registered oracle with the House of Night. The government has used his services from time to time, and retains a certain mutually beneficial relationship with him. As well as the rest of your clan."
"I don't understand."
He smiled again, the wrinkles of his aged face curling. "He has confirmed that your brother will wake soon. He… well to my knowledge can see certain things regarding the near future, and thus requested I meet with you."
Kallen will be okay?
A tentative flood of relief poured through her, drowning any questions she might have posed at the strange nature of the man taking over for the other woman.
"And as such," he continued, "Your grandfather did not want you revealing any secrets related to you or your brother's aspect, fighting style, achievements, etc."
"Um, okay."
"The great houses like to keep their secrets. And it's beneficial for us to help them keep those secrets, Miss Seren."
"Um, okay."
"Well then. Is there anything you could tell me about the Forgotten Shore while we wait on your brother to wake up?"
~~~
Seren burst out of the small room the second she felt a sort of change from her [Thread of Connection] attribute.
Her body reacted before her thoughts did. Muscles coiled with Awakened strength, and she sprinted through the halls, faster and faster until her surroundings blurred around. No one her age should have been able to move like that.
But none of that mattered.
She turned the corner hard and nearly slammed into the door. A nurse lay sprawled on the floor inside, unconscious but breathing.
Seren hesitated, heart hammering.
Her breath hitched. "Kallen?"
"Yes?" His voice came from inside the room. Warped, but only slightly. Real.
"What happened to the nurse?" she asked, easing the door open with one hand, eyes shut tight. It had probably been his echo, but she didn't want to take any chances…
"I'm not sure," Kallen responded after a pause. "I can't… I can't see. There's a lot going on right now… I think—I believe it's my Awakened Ability."
Seren brought her hand to her face, peeking through one eye between her middle and ring fingers. Kallen sat upright in the pod, braced against its back. His echo was active, she could see bits and pieces of cracked gold mixed with some red liquid.
It was fractured like some porcelain…
"Can you take your mask off?"
"It already is," he said. His voice was strained. "The mask is broken. It's… it's a long story. But regardless, I can't seem to turn off my Awakened Ability, and I don't have any other sets of armor to change into. I gave them all away before the siege."
Right.
His flaw would turn his aspect off, Seren realized, guessing that's what he meant about not having other armor to change into. He'd given his only other set to her, and probably wasn't wearing much under that echo.
Removing her hand, she opened both eyes fully.
And saw him.
He wasn't glowing, or burning, or anything odd. He was still. A feeling of relief took some of the weight off of her shoulders.
Then she found his gaze.
That weight came back tenfold. Kallen's eyes were gone. Replaced by pits of lightless black. They didn't shimmer or shine; they didn't reflect anything at all.
Void. They were made of void.
Like staring into a tear in reality. A depthless, ancient pressure bled from them, seeping into the room, into the air, and her skin, and mind, and soul.
Seren let out a pained yelp as it slammed into her. Something old and hateful, but simultaneously impossible stirred behind that gaze. Her knees buckled and her hands hit the doorframe.
Her soul recoiled. She screamed.
Seren drowned. Her soul drowned under that suffocating gaze.
"Kallen!" she shouted, trembling as she struggled to hold herself upright. "... please… look away."
A moment, then the pressure dissipated.
Suddenly and without warning, the weight in her mind, body, and soul erased, feeling as though she'd just emerged from a bottomless sea to find dry land.
Seren dropped to the ground, but strong, firm hands grasped her shoulders in moments.
A voice came from the side, but she didn't hear it. Her mind was clouded with the horrible memory of absence. Not shadow, but darkness.
"Seren," he called, audible this time. "Hey, you're scaring me… what happened?"
She choked out a response that even she didn't hear. The strong hands pulled her to her feet and wrapped her in a trembling hug.
"I'm sorry," came his voice. "I don't know what happened." There was pain in that apology. "I don't know what happened, but I'm here. It's over, I'm here."
~~~
Sunny
"Put me… down… Sunny," Nephis said, her words as tired and withered as he felt.
"No." Sunny shifted her position on his back, nearly dropping the girl on the ground. "Not going to happen."
Changing Star remained silent.
That was good. It gave him more room to think. To block out all the dark thoughts.
Kallen had done exactly what Sunny would have done if Rain was in Seren's place. In fact, Sunny probably would have gone farther. Not hesitated as much. That Nightwalker wasn't nearly ruthless enough to survive in such a heartless world.
But that was exactly why Sunny was here, carrying an exhausted Nephis through the rubble of the Bright Castle. He had chosen Nephis over his own freedom, kindness over ruthlessness.
No. That was wrong. It wasn't kindness, but rather, selfishness. It was because he wanted Nephis that he had saved her. It wasn't his kindness that had compelled him, but rather his desire for her to be alive. Whatever any of that meant, Sunny didn't care.
He wasn't in an introspective mood.
Damn you all, he thought, but even so, he carried on.