Later, she had asked him — carefully, almost timidly — if he would mind explaining what he meant when he said she had taught it to him.
He had given her a faint smile. Not mocking. Just… distant. A little amused. A little tired.
"That's what the Shadow Dance is for," he said quietly. "A shadow doesn't create. It only reflects. It moves when something else moves. That's its nature."
He paused, then added:
"…At least, most of the time. Most shadows are like that."
There was something strange in his voice. A weight behind the words.
"I can mirror almost any style. Pick it up in minutes. Combine it with everything I've seen before. Twist it into something new. Something mine."
Nephis was stunned. Truly. She didn't know how many more times he was going to surprise her… or why each time still managed to shake her more than the last.
Nephis didn't know what to say to that. But deep inside, something stirred. She became… curious. More than curious.
Interested.
But even that word felt imprecise. The truth was, she didn't know how to approach him. She was jealous, sometimes — of how easily Cassie got along with him. How naturally they interacted. As if he had always been little group. As if nothing about him needed to be questioned or feared.
But Nephis… she wasn't like that. She had never been. Her thoughts didn't come the same way they did for others. Sometimes she wanted to reach out — to connect — and then froze without knowing why. Her own feelings confused her.
And that, too, was frustrating.
So instead of doing anything about it, she stayed silent.
Afterward, they had extracted the soul shards from the shark, and Nephis had cracked both. With that done, they resumed their journey westward.
Sunny made sure not to change too much from how things had gone the first time — at least not anything critical. He and Nephis fought more Carapace Scavengers than before, but that was it. By the time they were nearing the Ashen Burrow, he had collected over five hundred shadow fragments, and that was without returning to the Dark Sea.
But it wasn't enough.
So on the last night, before they would have to descend into the Burrow, Sunny rose quietly and left the camp. He moved silently, like a shadow slipping through the trees. But not completely silent.
The faint splash of water reached Nephis. And maybe Cassie, too.
Nephis stirred.
At first, confusion. Then suspicion. Had he decided to betray them after all?
She sat up, searching the darkness.
Then she heard it. The barely perceptible sound of water rippling… and her thoughts ground to a halt.
He was going back into the Dark Sea.
For a long moment, she was frozen. Staring into the night with a disbelieving expression.
Why…?
She had never asked him what had happened to him that first time. She'd assumed it was just bad luck — some creature attacked him, he barely survived.
But now… maybe that wasn't it.
Maybe he had gone into the sea willingly.
No… that couldn't be right. Who would do something like that?
Yet, deep down, something told her it was true.
There were too many things about Sunny that didn't make sense. Too many things she didn't understand.
He never seemed afraid. Even when they were surrounded by ten or more Scavengers, his face remained calm. As long as Cassie was safe, he never showed fear.
But there were moments in the night when she saw a different version of him.
Sometimes, when he slept, his body would twist and stiffen in pain. His face would contort into a grimace so full of suffering that it made her chest tighten. His fists would clench until his nails drew blood.
And then… sometimes… it would happen.
A wave of killing intent — dark, cold, and suffocating — would spread from his body like a fog.
It was monstrous. Far beyond what any normal Sleeper, especially a seventeen-year-old, should be capable of producing.
It woke Cassie every time. And even Nephis, who never trembled, would feel her heartbeat pounding in her ears.
She had never asked about it. She didn't know how. And maybe she didn't want to know.
But now… now he was walking back into the sea.
And all she could do was sit in the darkness, staring at the place where he had vanished, asking herself the same question over and over again:
Why?
She wanted to wait until Sunny came back to call him out — she knew what he'd done. But when she tried to imagine the conversation, she froze. What would she even say?
"Hey Sunny, I saw you walk into the Dark Sea at night. Why would you do that?"
And he'd probably just shrug and say something like:
"I need to get stronger. Fast. This is the fastest way. With Abyssal Fang, it's not that dangerous. I've got more fragments now. Last time won't repeat."
And that would be it. Like it was normal.
But it wasn't.
Even with her own terrifying will and impossible goals, Nephis wouldn't do something like that. Not even she. And Sunny… he was someone she couldn't understand.
She must've drifted off at some point, because by the time morning came, she woke to a faint trail of blood leading to Sunny's sleeping form. But he looked uninjured.
Confused and tense, she reached out to wake him before Cassie stirred — but the moment her hand got close, his fingers shot up and caught her wrist.
He opened his eyes, a spark of amusement in them.
"Good morning, Neph. How are you?"
Then, with a crooked grin: "We've got some rough days ahead. Hope you're ready."
She narrowed her eyes and answered calmly.
"Hey Sunny. I'm fine. But what about you? Mind explaining why you'd do something as suicidal as last night?"
Her voice sharpened.
"And don't even try to deny it. Not that you could."
He chuckled, bright as ever.
"Were you worried?"
She snorted, yanking her hand back.
"No, you idiot. But if you were dead, it would be a problem for me and Cassie."
She turned to walk away, but before she got far, she asked without looking back,
"What do you mean by rough days ahead?"
Sunny beamed even brighter.
"That's the second time you broke your promise."
"You'll see when we get there."
Nephis ground her teeth in frustration. Again. She, the Changing Star, couldn't even keep a simple promise. She never let her guard down around anyone. But with him… it was different.
She stumbled into every trap he laid, no matter how obvious. Not just in sparring — which they did every day — but in conversation, in planning, in everything.
She muttered, "Sorry," and went to make breakfast.
Later that day, they reached the Ashen Burrow. The fight was the same as last time, except this time, Sunny struck the final blow.
He didn't let them eat the fruit.
"Rest," he said, serious and low. "But don't touch the fruit. No matter what."
Cassie and Nephis exchanged glances, surprised by his tone, but nodded and lay down.
Sunny, meanwhile, descended into his thoughts. The Blood Weave… and more importantly, the next step.
This time, he didn't just kill the Spawn of the Vile Thieving Bird — he took its soul shard. And with it came the voice of the Spell:
[You have slain a Great Devil, Spawn of the Vile Thieving Bird.]
[Your Shadow grows stronger.]
[You have received a Memory: Drop of Ichor.]
Memory: [Drop of Ichor]
Memory Rank: Unknown
Memory Type: Unknown
Memory Description:
[The loathsome Thieving Bird was hated by gods and forgotten kings alike. But it cared only for shiny things. Enamored by Weaver's beautiful eyes, it stole one on a dark, starless night. Too impatient, it peered at its stolen treasure mid-flight — and in Weaver's pupil, it saw the reflection of [Unknown]. Driven mad, it screamed and dropped the eye into the mortal realm. All that remained in its greedy beak was a single drop of pure golden ichor.]
He didn't hesitate.
What followed was hell.
It felt like every cell in his body was being unmade and rebuilt, over and over. His eyes burned like stars were lodged behind them. He clawed at his face, leaving deep bloody furrows — which vanished seconds later, erased by something unseen.
He screamed. Wordless. Endless.
His voice gave out, but the pain didn't. It never stopped. His limbs jerked, convulsed, and then — a misstep. He tumbled from the high branch, crashing down from branch to branch until he slammed into the floor with a horrible, sickening crack.
Nephis jolted awake, eyes searching in the darkness.
She'd heard the scream.
Then the fall.
Then the sound.
When she saw him hit the ground, face-first, and heard that sound — that crack — her mind froze.
No one survives that. No human.
But the screaming didn't stop.
If anything, it got worse.
He wasn't dead.
He was still alive.
Bleeding from his eyes, nose, and mouth, raking his nails into his own flesh. But healing. Always healing.
Nephis stood frozen until Cassie grabbed her sleeve, terrified.
"Neph… is that Sunny? What's happening? Is he…?"
"I don't know," she whispered, still in shock.
"Let's go to him." Cassie said.
They approached cautiously.
By the time they reached him, it was over. Sunny was lying still, his breathing even. His eyes were open.
Nephis moved to ask if he was okay, but before she could speak, he stood up, brushed himself off, and smiled like nothing had happened.
"What are you two doing here? Didn't I tell you to sleep?"
They were speechless. Cassie blinked in disbelief.
Nephis stared.
She'd seen that fall. Heard the impact.
But he stood there like nothing ever happened.
As he turned to leave, he tossed over his shoulder:
"I'm going to sleep. You should too. And stay away from the tree. It's a Nightmare creature. It uses mind hexes. That's how it controls the Carapace Centurion. That's also why you don't eat the fruit."
They stared after him in silence.
Dolls with the strings cut.
He walked off into the darkness.
They turned back to the tree.
It was waiting for them.
Silent. Ancient. Patient.
Its twisting branches loomed in the dimness like skeletal fingers, reaching out across the clearing. The soft glow of the pale fruits pulsed with a rhythm too slow to be alive… and too hypnotic to ignore.
The two girls walked slowly, unknowingly, as if pulled by invisible strings. Their footsteps were light, hesitant — but they didn't stop.
The moment Sunny's presence faded into the distance, the tree stirred.
Not physically — no, it never moved.
But its influence deepened.
Tendrils of cold suggestion crept through the cracks in their thoughts. Whispers that weren't words but feelings curled around the edges of their minds. Hunger. Exhaustion. Comfort. Safety in surrender.
Nephis blinked.
For a second, her vision swam — and when it cleared, she found herself sitting beneath the tree, back resting against its smooth bark.
Had she walked there? Sat down?
She couldn't remember.
Didn't matter.
The air was warm. The ground was soft. The light from the fruit was so gentle, so peaceful. Just a little rest. Just a little longer.
Cassie was next to her, already asleep — her breathing calm, a small smile on her lips.
The tree watched.
Somewhere deep in its ancient core, it waited.