'Where... am I?'
For a moment, Sunny was lost. His mind was sluggish, his thoughts fragmented. Then, slowly, memories began to return.
'I killed that shark devil... earned a Memory... then that tentacled bastard dragged me into the ocean and—'
His breath hitched.
The ocean.
A nightmare of endless darkness. A battlefield with no air, no ground, no end. He had been fighting ever since. Cutting, killing, and surviving against the dwellers of the depths. Abomination after abomination, one horror after another... If not for his new memory, he would have died the minute he was dragged into the ocean.
The memories sent a shudder through him. But that wasn't the worst part. No, the true terror had come at the end.
When the ocean had suddenly surged. When the water itself had receded like a beast retreating to its lair. In that moment, he had almost been dragged down with it. He had desperately held on to a coral to avoid that dreadful future. And then...
Sunny swallowed, his throat dry. He never wanted to relive that, especially what happened after.
A faint, rhythmic sensation reached him—his own breathing. The rise and fall of his chest.
...He was alive.
Slowly, with immense effort, he pried his eyes open. A pale face loomed above him.
It was Nephis.
Her silver hair was damp, strands clinging to her skin. Beads of sweat trailed down her forehead, glistening in the dim light. Her breath was heavy, her chest rising and falling as if she had just run a great distance.
Her chest...
Sunny froze.
It was barely covered by a makeshift brassier made of fibres and seaweed. It revealed just a little too much for his comfort.
Heat rushed to his face.
'Pure thoughts, Sunny. You just survived the accursed ocean. Don't make her kill you now.'
He tried to look away, but couldn't move his head. That was because Nephis held his cheeks, her grip was firm yet strangely... delicate, forcing him to meet her gaze.
There was something unfamiliar in her eyes— A mix of relief, pain, perplexion, hope.
...And tears.
Faint, drying trails of water lined her cheeks.
She had been crying.
'Was she crying... for me?'
A strange warmth settled in his chest, warring with disbelief. Had she truly shed tears over him? Did she really care about him enough?
Sunny wanted to smile. To reach out and comfort her. To hug her. He would have probably done so, if not for a more rational thought stopping him cold.
'This... is probably the first time she's used her Aspect on someone else.'
The Nephis he knew was accustomed to pain, the burning agony of her aspect didn't falter her. But the girl before him? She was not.
Healing him must have been excruciating for her.
She was probably screaming her lungs out and crying, writhing in pain, having to heal someone as close to death as Sunny was. Her agony was likely only second to the time she had fought the nightmare creature beneath the ocean after they escaped the Ashen Barrow in his previous life. At least so early on.
Especially considering...
Sunny's expression darkened.
'I remember losing a limb or two.'
Sunny grimaced internally.
He was not the reason she had been crying, it was the pain of her flaw. Even so, Sunny was grateful, happy and relieved. She had endured all that pain... for him. If not for her, he would have probably died.
Sunny blinked, his gaze shifting back to her face. Even in its exhausted, tear-streaked state... it was beautiful. Something about looking at her curled his lips into a smile.
He wanted to give a snide remark, tease her, or say something funny to lighted the mood. But surprisingly, what came out was just a simple question.
"...Hey there, Neph," he rasped, his voice rough and weak. "How are you?"
For a moment, she simply stared.
Then, a small, hesitant smile ghosted across her face.
"You're alive!"
"Yes, I am." Sunny replied. "And before you ask how, let's collect the soul fragments from this thing and get out of here."
Nephis held his gaze for a long moment, then gave a small nod. She tried to rise, but the moment she put weight on her feet, they faltered beneath her. Her body swayed—about to collapse—when Sunny moved without thinking, catching her before she could hit the ground.
For a brief moment, silence hung between them, tense and fragile. The only sounds were Nephis's ragged breaths and the steady, fast, rhythmic thrum of her heart. Sunny stiffened, momentarily flustered, then let out a quiet sigh.
'She must have overused her aspect too much...'
His expression remained neutral, but inwardly, he grimaced. He had underestimated the toll her aspect took on her. Healing him had drained her—both physically and mentally—far more than he had expected. It was his fault Nephis had to suffer so much...
Pushing the thought away, he shifted his grip and helped her back to her feet.
"Easy there. Are you alright?"
She met his gaze, her silver eyes unreadable, then shook her head.
"Yes. Thank you."
Neither of them wasted another word. After carving out the soul shards from the slain abomination, they turned and made their way back to the coral mound. Before long, the sound of gnashing teeth and wet tearing filled the air—a horde of scavengers had already descended upon the remains of the beast, eager to strip it down to the bone.
...
"Nephis? Is that you?"
Hearing the sound of someone climbing up the coral and landing atop it, Cassie called out.
"Yes, it's me."
A breath of relief escaped the blind girl's lips.
"Where did you run off to all of a sudden? One moment you were shouting at me to wait here, and the next, you were gone! Do you have any idea how worried I—"
She froze.
Another sound. Footsteps. Someone else had reached the top.
For a brief moment, fear gripped her heart.
Nephis had left in a hurry. Her voice had been tense, urgent. Cassie had assumed she was going to fight a Nightmare Creature. But if something had followed her back...
Did she fail to kill it?
Did more of them come?!
Panic creeping into her voice, she hesitated before whispering, "Uh... Nephis. Did a Nightmare Creature follow you—"
"How rude!"
A familiar voice cut her off, laced with playful indignation.
"I've been called many things—rat, bastard, cockroach. But a Nightmare Creature? That's just cruel."
Cassie caught her breath.
"Sunny!"
In the next instant, she rushed forward, reaching out. Her hands found him, and then—without thinking—she wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace. Like a little sister clinging to her older brother, overwhelmed with relief.
"I'm so glad you're safe!"
Sunny stiffened. He hadn't expected this reaction from her. But after a moment, he sighed, raised his arms, and hugged her back.
"Of course, I'm safe. Didn't I tell you? I'm too stubborn to die."
Cassie let out a small, relieved laugh and slowly released him.
Before she could bombard him with questions—"Where have you been? How did you get here?"—Sunny's legs suddenly buckled. He dropped to the ground like a puppet with cut strings, landing face-first onto the coral.
Cassie gasped. "Sunny—!"
But he let out a blissful sigh, arms stretched wide as if hugging the ground itself.
"Ah... solid ground to sleep on."
And just like that, he passed out.
Cassie blinked. Then turned to Nephis in complete confusion.
"What happened to him?"
Nephis regarded Sunny's unconscious form for a moment before shrugging.
"It seems he spent the entire night fighting in the ocean. I healed his wounds, but..." She hesitated. "The exhaustion must have caught up with him."
Cassie's mouth fell open.
"F-fighting all night... in the ocean?!"
Nephis sighed. "That's what it looked like to me. When I found him, he was standing on top of a colossal creature as the sea receded. Before I healed him..." Her silver eyes darkened. "He was in very bad shape."
Cassie swallowed, slowly piecing it together.
Sunny had survived the abyss. And not just that—he had fought through it. Alone.
A small, amazed smile touched her lips as she turned her head to his sleeping figure.
"In that case, let's not disturb him. Let him rest as long as he needs."
Nephis gave a small nod. Without another word, she turned and walked to the edge of the coral.
Below, the landscape had changed. The sea had retreated, revealing the corpse of the massive creature Sunny had slain. And around it—hundreds of scavengers had emerged, tearing and ripping into the dead abomination's flesh.
Every monster in the vicinity was feasting. That meant—for now—no new threats would come. Still...
Nephis glanced at Cassie and gestured.
"We need food. I'll go hunting."
...
Sunny woke to the scent of roasting meat.
It was the first thing his mind registered—an intoxicating aroma, thick with the rich, smoky fragrance of sizzling flesh.
The second thing he noticed was the warmth of the sun. It bathed the coral in a golden glow, far too bright for his unadjusted eyes. He winced, shifting slightly.
The third... was the distant, wet sound of something being ripped apart.
Sunny's body tensed instinctively. He listened, muscles coiling—then relaxed. It wasn't a threat. Just scavengers still feasting on the massive corpse below.
A deep breath. A slow exhale.
He was alive.
He pushed himself upright and scanned his surroundings.
Nephis and Cassie sat across from each other near a crude fire pit, both silently eating strips of cooked meat. Cassie was clad in the awakened armor Nephis had given her, while Nephis herself...
...Was wearing a makeshift skirt and a brassiere.
Sunny's brain stalled for a moment.
Nephis had always been beautiful, even back when they were mere Sleepers. And now, with her current attire... well, she was beyond just 'aesthetically pleasing.'
It was testing the limits of his self-control to not stare, especially since he now had actual feelings for her, unlike last time.
'Pure thoughts, Sunny. Pure thoughts.'
He bit the inside of his cheek and quickly shifted his focus to the food. The meat, the glorious meat—that was definitely more important than anything else right now.
He cleared his throat.
"That looks delicious."
Both girls turned to him. Nephis gave a small nod. Cassie smiled.
"Did you have enough sleep? How are you feeling?"
Sunny sat down beside them with a content sigh.
"Yes. I feel rejuvenated."
Grabbing a piece of the roasted meat, he bit into it—only to immediately flinch.
"Ow—! That's hot!"
A curse slipped from his lips, but that didn't stop him from devouring the rest. Then another. And another.
The three of them ate in silence. A comfortable, companionable silence. Finally, Sunny leaned back and exhaled.
"You can let it out now," he said dryly. "I know you two have been holding back a barrage of questions."
Nephis didn't hesitate.
"What happened to you?"
Cassie, at the same time—
"Did you really spend the entire night in the ocean?"
Sunny shifted his gaze between them and sighed.
"Uhh... do you want the short version or the long version?"
Nephis narrowed her eyes.
"The short version first."
"Alright." He cracked his neck. "A lot of things happened. First, I was thrown into the middle of the ocean, getting chased by a shark abomination, which was getting chased by a tentacled abomination. I jumped into the shark's mouth and killed it. Got a Memory. Then the tentacled bastard dragged me into the abyss... so I killed it too."
He lingered for a moment, studying their faces. Of course, he had only been able to kill the tentacled abomination because it was severely weakened by fighting the dozen or so abominations Sunny had summoned, and that too with long hours of struggle, but he neglected to mention it. It was just too amusing without it.
"I spent the rest of the night fighting one abomination after another. Then, just before dawn, the sea receded. I had to hold on to a coral for dear life so I wouldn't get dragged to wherever the accursed water was going."
"That was when an especially damnable bastard decided to uproot the coral and attack me. It bit off my arm... so I cut its throat and tore it apart, piece by piece, until it died. Then I clung to its corpse to survive the last of the currents. Uhh... You know the rest."
He grinned, watching their stunned expressions. The further he spoke, the more their jaws seemed to drop.
Cassie looked utterly floored. Nephis... Nephis just stared at him.
Sunny stretched lazily and let out a satisfied breath.
"And yes," he added, turning to Cassie. "I really spent the whole night in the ocean. Anything else?"
For a moment, there was silence.
Then—
Nephis dropped her strip of meat. Cassie, on the other hand, practically exploded.
"What do you mean, 'Anything else'?! Give us the long version!"
Sunny sighed.
"Alright, alright. Geez."
He scratched the back of his head and smirked.
"So, you see, the Memory I got from killing the shark—which, by the way, was a Corrupted Devil—was..."
AN: My apolocheese for the evil cliffhanger 🙏