[Your shadow grows stronger.]
[Your shadow grows stronger.]
[Your shadow grows stronger.]
Sunny found himself caught in a strange mixture of exhilaration and frustration. Throughout the course of the day, they'd managed to bring down three more scavengers, each time with minimal risk to anyone—save for Nephis, of course. The process had become almost routine: they'd spot the monster, Sunny would blend into the shadows, and Nephis would take the role of the daring bait. Then, when the time was right, Sunny would slip from the shadows and deliver the final, deadly blow with a precise strike of his Twin's Bane.
He couldn't help but wonder if this was what it felt like to be part of the main hero's party, the kind of team where everything just seemed to work, where the pieces fit together so perfectly. For anyone else—maybe with the exception of his friend Caster—dancing around a ferocious awakened beast would have been a daunting task, one that would likely result in a swift and gruesome death. But Nephis, it seemed, did it with ease, over and over again, her movements smooth and effortless, her poise unshaken.
What made it even more remarkable was that her remarkable performance was based entirely on her skill, with no help from an Aspect Ability. In that regard, even Caster might have been impressed by what Nephis could do.
Nephis was swift, calm, and precise—like a master of her craft. Every movement she made was deliberate, calculated, executed with such perfect timing it seemed almost like she could anticipate the scavenger's every move before it happened. It was as though combat was a language she spoke fluently, and the beasts—mindless as they were—were her unwitting dance partners. She didn't just avoid their strikes; she manipulated the flow of the battle, leading them exactly where she wanted them to go, all while staying several steps ahead.
Sunny had always prided himself on understanding the importance of skill and experience over raw power. He was living proof of that philosophy. But watching Nephis fight brought into sharp focus just how much of a difference there truly was between them. Even with his divine Aspect, which granted him greater strength and speed, Sunny realized in that moment that, in a straight-up fight, he would stand no chance against her. She was simply on a different level.
Still, Sunny wasn't about to downplay his own role in these skirmishes. His job as the finisher might not have been as flashy, but it was critical. After all, not just anyone could consistently take down four scavengers with a single strike. While he hadn't learned any advanced techniques at the academy, he had something else: experience. His coordination, his combat intuition, and—most importantly—his calmness under pressure made him a reliable asset to the team.
And, of course, none of this would have been possible without his shadow. It was his shadow that had allowed them to ambush the scavengers so effectively, silently scouting out their positions and ensuring that they never faced more than they could handle.
All in all, it was an almost perfect cooperation between them. And yet, no matter how much he tried to remind himself of his importance, watching Nephis in action was a sobering experience. It was humbling, even.
Trying not to let the feelings of inadequacy take over, Sunny summoned the runes.
[Shadow Fragments: 22/1000].
'*'
It didn't take long for them to reach the top of the headless statue, the climb aided significantly by their teamwork. Bringing Cassie up the monument had been a delicate endeavor, but with Nephis's careful guidance and Sunny's strategic thinking, they managed it without incident. Their journey had been taxing, but now, perched atop the statue, they had a moment to pause and catch their breath.
The girls, after their exertions, were seated comfortably, savoring the spoils of their day's hunt. The meal was simple, but satisfying—a quiet, peaceful moment amidst the chaos they'd endured. The only sounds were the occasional crackle of the fire and the soft rustling of the wind against the craggy surfaces of the statue.
Nephis, after a time, signaled to Sunny, a subtle gesture that told him it was time to bring out the day's spoils. He complied, reaching into his bag and retrieving the four shimmering soul shards, each one glimmering with an inner light. He carefully placed them on the ground before them, the delicate shards catching the light as they settled.
Without the need for any words, Nephis swiftly picked up two of the crystals, handing one of them to Cassie, who accepted it with a quiet nod. The gesture was simple, yet it spoke volumes. Sunny couldn't help but feel a twinge of admiration. Not many people would show such consideration for Cassie, and certainly not without expecting anything in return. It was a quiet but meaningful act, one that spoke to the kind of person Nephis was.
Sunny watched them in silence, observing as Nephis and Cassie absorbed the energy from their respective shards. His mind was elsewhere, his thoughts wandering, and yet he made no move to claim his own. After a long pause, he reached into his rucksack again, pulling out another crystal. With a steady hand, he moved all three remaining shards toward Nephis, watching her intently.
The silver-haired girl looked at him with a mix of surprise and curiosity, her usual composure momentarily slipping.
"Don't you want... to grow stronger?" she asked, her tone as cool and detached as ever.
Sunny grinned, the corners of his mouth lifting with a faint chuckle. "Of course, I do. But these won't do me much good right now," he replied, his voice light but firm. "It's no secret that you are the key to our group's fighting strategy, and you're definitely the better fighter between the two of us."
He paused, his grin fading slightly as he thought about the future, their survival, and the risks ahead. "The stronger you are, the better our chances of survival will be," he added, his voice more serious now. "It's not a gift, though. It's a trade."
Nephis raised an eyebrow at him, clearly intrigued. "A… trade?" Her expression was unreadable, but there was a flicker of interest in her eyes. "What do you want?"
Sunny hesitated for a moment, considering his words carefully. He had thought long and hard about this, weighing the pros and cons, but now that the moment had come, he couldn't afford to second-guess himself.
"It's rather simple," he said finally, his voice steady. "I'll give you these soul shards—and any others I earn on the way to that castle..." He locked eyes with her, his gaze unwavering. "In return, you'll teach me how to fight properly. I'm decent with my dagger, but I can't rely on it forever. At some point, I'll need to use a sword. I learned the basics back at the academy, but it wasn't enough to fight safely. I need more than just the fundamentals."
He let the silence hang for a moment, his words lingering in the air. "So, I'm offering you these in exchange for the knowledge and skills I'll need to survive. We're in this together, and I think we both know that the better I can fight, the better off we'll all be."
'*'
"What do you think that essence is?"
Sunny hesitated for a moment, his mind spinning as he tried to grasp the question. The... essence of combat? What could it be?
If he were asked this in a different context, with someone else, he might have been tempted to offer a simple, grand answer like "honor," "valor," or "duty." Something noble and high-minded, the kind of thing a warrior might say to sound virtuous. But he already knew that Nephis was not the type to be swayed by empty, grandiose words. She wasn't someone who adhered to ideals just for the sake of them.
He took a breath and reflected on his past battles. His first instinct was to say *survival*, but that was more of an end goal, not an essence. So how did he reach that goal, time after time? The truth was, in all his years of fighting, he had never followed a rigid formula. His approach changed based on the battlefield, the opponent, the circumstances. There were too many variables for anything to remain the same. Perhaps *adaptation* was the key? But even that, he thought, was too passive, lacking the sharpness and initiative needed in combat.
And then it came to him—just as Cassie spoke.
"Victory."
And almost at the same time, Sunny added, "Movement."
Nephis shook her head slightly. "No."
There was a slight pause as she rubbed the back of her neck, her expression unreadable. Then, her gaze sharpened and locked onto them—cold, unyielding, and fierce.
"The essence of combat," she began, her voice steady and certain, "is murder."
A cold shiver ran down Sunny's spine at her words. His mind stuttered briefly, processing the bluntness of her statement.
'Bruh,' he thought to himself, still processing what he had just heard.
Cassie's expression was wide-eyed, her body flinching at the starkness of Nephis's words. Sunny, too, frowned slightly, though his mind was beginning to catch up with the gravity of what she meant. Nephis, however, was unphased. In the same calm, almost detached tone, she continued.
"At the core of it, there is only this: you are trying to kill your opponent, and they are trying to kill you. In the end, one of you will be dead, and the other will be the killer. Everything else—the reasons, the styles, the weapons—are just distractions. Noise."
Her words hit Sunny with the force of a hammer. They sank into him deeply, reverberating in the quiet parts of his mind. And something inside him stirred, something primal, something that *understood* what she was saying, something that resonated with the brutal simplicity of it.
"Style doesn't matter. Weapons don't matter. Reason and intent do not matter. The only thing that matters is being the last one standing. The only thing that matters is surviving. Everything you do in combat must have one of two purposes: either to kill your enemy or to prevent your enemy from killing you."
Nephis's gaze softened for a brief moment, her eyes lowered slightly as she gave them space to digest her words. Then, with a slight nod, she concluded:
"If you can truly understand that... you will have enough clarity to master the mind."
The silence that followed felt heavy, as if the weight of her words had wrapped around them, settling deep into their bones. Sunny's heart was still beating a little faster, his mind racing, the echoes of her philosophy ringing in his ears. The clarity with which she viewed the world—the brutal, unvarnished truth of it—was like a blade, sharp and unforgiving. And yet, in a way, it made more sense than anything he had heard before.
'*'
After that, Sunny couldn't fall asleep for what felt like an eternity. He lay there on the cold, unforgiving stone, staring into the vast expanse of darkness, his mind racing with thoughts of what Nephis had taught them.
'Repetition, experience, clarity.'
These were the three keys to becoming a truly fearsome warrior. All were essential, but it was the last one that gnawed at him, relentlessly.
Was it really as Changing Star had said? Was there nothing at the core of being a warrior other than a cold, unyielding will to kill? Intuitively, Sunny couldn't shake the sense that it was true. This brutal truth, though harsh, felt like an amalgamation of all his life experiences, an inevitable realization borne of countless battles, both within and without.
'Clarity,' he thought to himself, his mind almost absently tracing the word. 'That's what I've called upon for my "jobs" all along.'
Now, all that was left was to master the first two—repetition and experience.
So, that's what he did. For hours, he immersed himself in the motions, repeating the sword techniques that Caster and Rock had shown him. His muscles screamed in protest, his body wracked with exhaustion, but his resolve held steady. His mind burned with concentration, sharp and unyielding, like a blade being tempered by fire. A hundred... two hundred... three hundred... four hundred... He lost count. Time bled into itself, until he was no longer certain where he began and where the sword ended. He was moving on pure instinct now, the repetitive motions pushing his body to its limits.
It was in that hypnotic rhythm that he almost lost himself completely—until a scream, sharp and terrified, ripped him out of his trance.
'Cassie!'
His heart slammed against his ribcage as he turned toward the sound. The blind girl was teetering dangerously on the edge of the platform, her face twisted in sheer terror. Her blonde hair hung in wild, unkempt strands, and she reached out with trembling hands, searching for something that wasn't there. Of course, there were no walls to find her bearings—only the yawning void of open air beneath her. The dark, tumultuous waters below waited hungrily for her to slip.
Without thinking, without a single moment of hesitation, Sunny was already moving. He didn't care about the risks—the unknown danger that might be lurking, the fact that it was still too dark for Nephis to see. None of it mattered. Cassie needed him, and that was enough.
It was foolish, reckless even—he didn't know what had triggered her fear, and his sudden lunge could have made her lash out with her sword before he had a chance to speak. Waiting and observing would have been the sensible choice, the one he'd been taught. But for reasons he couldn't understand, Sunny acted without thought. He reached her just as she stumbled forward, her foot hanging in midair, about to plunge into the abyss.
He caught her in his arms, pulling her away from the precipice.
"I've got her!" Sunny shouted, quickly trying to reassure Nephis that there was no need to use her blade on him.
Then, with a gentleness that was almost foreign to him, he whispered into Cassie's ear, "I've got you. It's alright. Everything's fine. Just calm down, breathe."
He could feel her body trembling, her grip tightening around him as if her very life depended on it. His gaze darted around, searching for what could have caused her such fear—but there was nothing. The platform remained silent, the vastness of the sea as still as it had been before.
Nephis, ever watchful, listened intently to the sea, her eyes scanning the horizon. After a moment of stillness, she spoke.
"Do you see anything?"
Sunny shook his head, his frown deepening. "No."
He helped Cassie sit down at the center of the platform, making sure she was stable. Nephis remained standing guard above them, vigilant as ever. Sunny gently checked Cassie over for any wounds, his fingers lightly tracing her skin, but there was no sign of injury. She was physically unharmed.
"She's not hurt anywhere," Sunny reported quietly, though his concern remained.
He sat beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, offering whatever comfort he could.
Nephis looked down at them. Her face was unreadable, as always, but Sunny could sense the subtle change in her demeanor. She was concerned, though she showed no sign of it outwardly. After a beat, she spoke again, her voice as cool and even as ever, though there was a softness to it.
"Cassie? What happened?"
Her voice, as impassive as it was, had a calming effect. The tremors in Cassie's body seemed to lessen, and after a moment, she managed to speak, her voice quivering with residual fear.
"Th—the head... I saw... oh gods!"
Sunny's frown deepened, and his eyes met Nephis's, searching for answers.
He wanted to be there for Cassie, but it seemed Nephis had other plans. Without another word, she gently tugged him aside, away from the trembling girl.
"She is strong," Nephis observed, her voice neutral.
"I know, but still…" Sunny replied, his voice trailing off. He knew that Cassie had to be strong—mentally at least. No one weak would have survived as long as she had, blind, on the Forgotten Shore.
Nephis didn't respond immediately, but soon, she gestured for him to summon the Azure Blade. Without hesitation, he obeyed. She stretched out her hand to take it, her fingers brushing over the weapon as she studied it carefully. After a moment's contemplation, she nodded in approval and summoned her own longsword.
Despite its size, Nephis's blade was an elegant weapon. The narrow, double-edged sword was far longer than the Azure Blade, with an incredibly sharp, symmetrical tip. The simple cross-shaped guard and pommel glistened with silver, reflecting the pale morning light, and the handle was wrapped tightly in black leather, providing a sleek, sturdy grip.
She placed the two swords side by side, comparing them thoughtfully.
"Your sword can be used with one hand, but its true potential is unlocked when wielded with both hands. It's designed primarily for cutting and severing, which is why the center of gravity is higher. Still, it can thrust, if needed."
Nephis gestured to her own blade.
"My sword is more versatile. It's crafted for both cutting and thrusting, with a double edge. The principle behind using both blades, however, is fundamentally the same."
She gripped her sword with both hands—one near the guard, the other closer to the pommel. In a fluid motion, she executed a downward slash, demonstrating the power and precision of the strike.
"They are leverage-based weapons. When wielded with two hands, one hand pushes..." She pushed the sword downward with the hand near the guard. "While the other hand pulls," she explained, the hand near the pommel pulling back, amplifying the speed of the strike.
"This is how you generate force and deliver powerful strikes. But you already know this," she added with a glance at him. "It's the foundation of any sword style, especially the Valor style."
She then pointed her sword toward him, her eyes narrowing