168 Outside

Sunny grimaced and turned away, feeling a terrible headache. The sun was almost gone, and the night was following in its footsteps. He didn't have much time left.

With a desperate smile, Sunny looked and Changing Star and asked:

"What can be so damn important? What can be so valuable that you are ready to condemn everyone here to death?!"

He shook his head, guessing that he already knew.

"Don't tell me that it's some stupid crap like bringing the glory of the Immortal Flame clan back. Duty of the Awakened? What, you gave a terrible oath to become the first human to conquer the Fourth Nightmare, like your father conquered the Third, and your grandfather the Second? Or even worse, is it something even more foolish? Are you planning to save the damn world?!"

Nephis stared at him for a few moments, and then grinned. Something dangerous and unfamiliar awakened in her eyes… no, not completely unfamiliar.

It was the same strange, maniacal glimmer he had seen once before, right after saying the three strange words to her.

Aster, Song, Vale.

Back then, for a few moments, Changing Star had turned from a calm and composed young woman into someone he wasn't sure he recognized anymore.

With a soft chuckle, Neph shook her head.

"Save the world? No, I'm not going to save the world, Sunny."

Then, the smile disappeared from her face, and white flames suddenly ignited in the depths of her cold, grey eyes. With dark and frightening conviction, she said:

"I'm going to destroy it."

Her words echoed in the darkness, making Sunny feel an irrational feeling of dread. He stared at her, both failing to comprehend and afraid to believe in what she had just heard.

Destroy... the world? What?

Deeply inhaling the cool air, Changing Star looked up at the sky.

"This world, Sunny. This cursed place. The Dream Realm. No, I won't be the first one to conquer the Fourth Nightmare. I will be the first one to conquer every Nightmare. I'll go through them one after another, destroying anything and anyone who stands in my way. And when I get to the heart of the Nightmare Spell, I'm going to obliterate every part of it, I'm going to rip it to shreds, I'm going to decimate and bring it to ruin."

She looked him in the eyes and said:

"You think Gunlaug can stop me? You think a Fallen Terror can stop me? Those three ghouls can stop me? No, Sunny. Nothing will stop me. Anyone who dares will die. I'll kill them all."

Taking a step back, Sunny stared at her with wide eyes.

He shivered, feeling something cold touch the back of his neck. Then, he grimaced and asked, a hint of anguish in his voice:

"Why? Why do you want to destroy the Spell so much?"

A corner of Changing Star's mouth curled up slightly. After a few moments, she simply said:

"Because I hate it."

Sunny blinked, stunned by the simplicity of that answer. If it was someone else, he would have thought that they were lying.

But Nephis lived in a strange, stark world. She did things simply because she wanted to, and apparently wanted to destroy an eternal, omnipotent existence simply because she hated it.

Why the hell not?

He closed his eyes and whispered.

"You are actually insane."

Neph smiled.

"What does it mean to be insane in a world that has gone mad? I would be wary of anyone who remained perfectly sane in this hell."

Then, she sighed.

"So, are we done here? Or do you have more questions? The sun is almost gone, so you'd better hurry up and ask them."

Sunny shook his head and said, his voice hoarse:

"...Yeah. Yeah, Neph. I'm done."

With that, he slowly turned around and took a step forward.

Left behind, Nephis frowned.

"Where are you going? Come back here."

He waved a hand and said in a suppressed tone, refusing to turn his head:

"Sorry. I have an errand to run. We'll... talk some other time."

Her frown deepened. Looking at his back, Changing Star gritted her teeth and called:

"I said come back, Sunny! This conversation isn't over! Come back here right now!"

But there was no answer.

Sunny had already disappeared into the shadows, leaving her standing alone in the alley that was brightly lit by the last light of the dying sunset.

***

Some time later, Sunny was walking through the ruins, Harper's dead body weighing on his shoulder. The young man was very gaunt back before he had been killed, so it wasn't much of a burden.

…Physically, at least.

It was the early hour of the night.

Surrounded by nothing but darkness, Sunny was left alone with his thoughts and emotions. But, strangely, both his heart and mind were empty. He couldn't be bothered to think or feel anything right now.

It was all just too much and too sudden.

Plus, he would much rather concentrate on not stumbling on some horrific monster. Ending up eaten by a Nightmare Creature right now would be very ironic, but still unpleasant.

He felt guilty about murdering Harper, but not enough to die while trying to dispose of the body. He would much prefer not to die for his sins.

Luckily, the area he was traversing was familiar to Sunny. He knew which streets were comparatively safe, and which he needed to avoid. Where the really horrible monsters lives, and where he could pass without being sensed by anything.

Finally judging that he was far away into the ruins, he found a partially collapsed house, climbed over the rubble, then hesitated for a few moments and threw the corpse inside. Harper's gaunt body rolled down the rocks and disappeared into the interior of the house, where no one would ever see it.

Here, done. That part, at least, was finished.

It was time to go back.

Sunny turned around and stared at the distant silhouette of the tall hill, with the magnificent castle standing on its top.

Right now, hundreds of people were sleeping there, either in the pitiful hovels of the outer settlement or in the safe and warm rooms of the ancient stronghold.

Neph, Cassie, and Effie were there.

Harus, Gemma, and Gunlaug the Bright Lord were there, too.

And many, many others.

And most of them were going to die.

Looking at the white marble walls of the castle, Sunny could see his future vividly. Watching helplessly as Changing Star builds here sect. Helping her defend herself from Gunlaug. Going on hunts, being invisible once he comes back. Afraid to get close to anyone, lest the same thing that happened to Harper repeats itself.

Up until the moment everything ends in bloodshed and terror.

Caster was there, too, waiting to use his leverage over Sunny to make him his obedient minion. Sunny wasn't deceived by the amiable personality of the handsome Legacy. He knew that nothing good was going to come of accepting his help.

...In the end, he just stood in the shadows and looked into the distance, at the tiny human enclave that persevered against all odds in the cursed nightmare of the Forgotten Shore like a lone glimmer of light.

After remaining motionless for a long time, Sunny quietly sighed, turned his back to it, and slowly walked into the darkness.