Shadow Slave

After drinking her fill, Nephis sat silently on the edge of the pool for a while, staring into the distance.

Her eyes, however, were moving, as if reading an invisible book that floated in the air above the calm waters.

Some time later, a pale shadow of a smile touched her lips.

'That guy… he did something crazy again, didn't he?'

She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.

'How is he so fast…'

In the past months… years, lifetimes?... spent traversing the Dream Realm, surrounded by nothing except for pain and bloodshed, Nephis had started doubting the memories of her previous life. Sometimes, all of it seemed like something that she had simply imagined… a bittersweet dream she had invented to escape from the horrors of the real world. This world.

The world of neverending nightmares.

The change of the runes describing Sunny was the only connection she had left to the actual reality. Perhaps, it was the only thing keeping her sane.

...Even if the things she saw in the shimmering runes were sometimes hard to believe.

The impossible Lineage that should not have existed, the divine Memory of the seventh Rank, the strange essence of his soul, the true nature of the taciturn stone demon… and of course, of his Flaw.

It seemed that Sunny had much more secrets than Nephis had suspected. With that knowledge, many things made much more sense now… but at the same time, many others seemed much more incredible.

Well, it was not like she didn't have secrets of her own.

And anyway, it was all in the past.

Everything was in the past.

All that remained was the future.

...She did hope that he was doing well, though, out there in the real world. With Cassie...

Looking up from the water, Nephis shifted her gaze to the ancient tree and saw two weathered skeletons cruelly nailed to its white bark. Both stared at her with empty eyes, their teeth bared in eternal grins.

After some time, one of the skeletons said:

"My, oh my. Am I that pleasant to look at?"

The other grated its teeth and let out a creaky growl, then strained, trying to wrestle free of the large silver nails impaling it to the tree. However, no matter how furiously it struggled, the nails held true.

Nephis looked at the skeletons with a calm expression, no emotion reflecting in her cold, grey eyes.

The first skeleton spoke again:

"Is that… is that living blood I smell? Gods! What terrible sins have you committed, girl, to be cast into this hell alive? Even for a revolting nephilim like you, this is too harsh of a punishment."

Finally, she opened her mouth and said hoarsely, in a voice of a person who had almost forgotten how to speak:

"...What language do you use?"

The skeleton laughed.

"The only language there is in this place, of course. Why? Do you wish to learn it?"

Nephis remained silent for a long time, and then said:

"I seek a way back to the waking world. Do you know how to escape this place?"

The skeleton stared at her with a grin.

"The waking world? What is that?"

The second skeleton suddenly spoke, his voice deep and full of rage:

"Can't you smell the stench of a daemon on this abominable thing? She is one of Weaver's, you fool!"

The first skeleton turned its skull a little, and then asked:

"Is that so? My, oh my. In that case, you will not find guides better than the two of us. Just take us off this damned tree, and we will lead you to wherever you want."

Nephis stared at them for a while, then turned away.

"...I don't need two guides. Which one should I pick?"

The second skeleton strained to free himself again, and then roared:

"I am Azarax the Mighty, the Plague of Steel, King of Kings, conqueror of a hundred thrones! Choose me, nephilim! I will guide you to the shores of the Underworld and through its dark expanse, back to the world of the living! You will need a powerful guide if you wish to escape!"

She spared him a glance, then said to the other one:

"...What about you?"

The first skeleton answered in an aloof tone:

"Me? Oh, I am no one. Just a humble slave."

Nephis lingered for a bit. Finally, she asked:

"Why are… the two of you… nailed to this tree?"

The skeleton who had called himself Azarax growled:

"Don't you know where you are, abominable creature?! I am here because I led my armies into the great war, slaughtered a myriad of souls, and was punished for my strength and my pride!"

She shifted her gaze to the other one.

The first skeleton answered succinctly:

"I have angered the gods."

Nephis tilted her head a little.

"How?"

The skeleton sighed with regret.

"Well, if you must know... I slit a god's throat. My, oh my! One could say that it was a misunderstanding. Was there really a need to be so petty?"

The sun was already falling behind the horizon, and chilling cold was spreading across the white desert. Nephis summoned her white cloak and wrapped herself in it, shivering.

Soon, night descended upon the world, revealing a myriad of bright stars. As it did, the sand moved, and slowly, countless figures rose from beneath it. All of them were corpses with no flesh remaining of their perfectly black bones, some of creatures that resembled humans, some of towering giants, and some of beings who were too strange and terrifying to describe.

In a clamor of rusted armor and a litany of howls, the hordes of abominations clashed against each other, continuing their terrible battle even in death.

Nephis moved closer to the tree, which somehow remained an isle of calm in the sea of terror, and looked at the first skeleton.

"You… remind me of someone I knew. Come morning, I will take you off the tree. To guide me though."

The skeleton cackled.

"Very well, vile creature. Even though you are revolting, I will keep my promise."

Nephis grinned.

"...What do I call you, then?"

The skeleton remained silent for a bit.

"A name? I used to have one of those, before. What was it? Oh!"

He moved its jaw a little, and then said:

"Eurys. Eurys of the Nine…"