"Hmm..."
After Asher's near-death experience, Cassie patiently began to explain the details of her vision.
It... wasn't what he expected.
He had assud he'd be in it. After all, he thought he was doing well. Yet, he wasn't ntioned at all.
With a pensive expression, Asher stared at the ground, his mind elsewhere.
'Is it because I'm an outsider?'
No—that couldn't be it. He was there. He was certain of it. But the vision Cassie described was different from what he rembered from the novel. Not radically so, but enough.
One detail stood out: she ntioned a mangled corpse in golden armor, and before it stood a black-haired figure.
His eyes shifted subtly toward Sunny.
If his guess was right, Sunny had sohow been the one to kill Gunlaug in this version of events. Not Nephis.
He didn't know how it happened or what led to it, but that small change hinted at a larger shift in the chain of causality. There were other tiny differences in her vision too—slight, but aningful. The butterfly effect was real, and he was the butterfly.
And then Cassie's voice beca more hesitant.
"In the end, I saw a colossal, terrifying crimson spire. At its base, seven severed heads guarded seven locks. And at the top… a dying angel, being consud by hungry shadows. When I saw the angel bleed, I suddenly felt as though... sothing precious—sothing beyond words—was being torn away from ."
Her voice trembled and fell to a whisper.
"But that wasn't it. I-I—" Cassie's voice broke as she shivered, cutting herself off.
Sunny sighed and looked away. Nephis gently placed a hand on Cassie's shoulder, then turned to Asher. "That's where she stopped for us too. I suspect it'll take ti before she's ready to share the rest."
Asher nodded slowly. He was deeply curious, of course, but one glance at Cassie told him she wasn't ready. Pushing would only hurt her.
Still, his thoughts raced.
'My presence changed things... affected how Nephis and Sunny behave? That's the only explanation that makes sense. The vision diverged slightly, because I exist here.'
That was the only logical explanation.
He hadn't been there with Sunny and Cassie when they reached the gate. He hadn't appeared in her vision. And yet, the vision was different.
Sothing had shifted.
"How troubleso," Asher finally muttered, his gaze drifting toward the night sky, dotted with unfamiliar stars.
At the sa ti, Sunny exhaled with frustration and muttered, "Those two carapace monsters... they were heading west. My shadow followed them."
A heavy silence fell over the group.
West. The sa direction they were traveling.
Everyone's expression turned grim—except Asher's. He didn't need to guess what lay ahead.
He already knew.
And that made it worse.
**
It was morning.
Nephis sat cross-legged, deep in ditation, her presence calm and centered. A soft aura pulsed around her like the breath of a sleeping blade. Nearby, Sunny and Cassie were locked in quiet conversation, their voices mingling in with the atmosphere.
Asher, anwhile, found himself with absolutely nothing to do. His fingers itched for distraction. After a brief internal debate, he strolled toward Nephis with a grin.
"It's rare to see those two chatting," he remarked casually, nodding toward Sunny and Cassie.
Nephis opened her eyes slowly, exhaling through her nose. "You interrupted my ditation," she said flatly.
Asher let out an awkward laugh. "Oops. My bad?"
Her pale eyes t his with a cold flicker. "Do you want sothing?"
"Nothing in particular," he said, still grinning.
"Then leave."
That was blunt.
Asher stepped back, dramatically wiping imaginary tears from his cheeks. "Ouch. You want gone that badly?"
Nephis hesitated.
Her expression shifted—subtly, but enough. She turned her face slightly, her eyes dropping to the ground.
"N-No… I just... prefer solitude," she muttered.
Asher tilted his head at her, a warm smile tugging at his lips. "Solitude, huh?" he murmured. "Alright, alright—I'll go."
He turned, waving a hand lazily over his shoulder. But before he could take a full step away, he felt a firm hand clamp down on his shoulder.
He froze.
Turning slowly, he found Nephis standing there, her eyes cool but her lips curled a bit upwards.
"Two thousand sword swings," she said evenly.
Asher paled. "Wait. What?"
Her gaze sharpened. "Now."
***
"..1462.."
"..1463.."
His eyes flicked to the side.
Nephis was no longer holding a training stick.
She now had a full-blown sword.
Noticing his glance, she offered him a calm, serene smile.
Asher flinched.
'Ueck! Scary!' Asher started to quicken his pace.
THAT Nephis was back. Asher had to get rid of her quick, and the quickest way of doing so was finishing his task.
"..1998.."
"..1999.."
"..2000.."
Asher finally let the sword slip from his trembling fingers and collapsed to the ground with a gasp. "CASSIE! WATER!" he croaked.
Before Cassie could respond, Nephis knelt beside him, holding out a familiar bottle. Asher took it without hesitation, greedily gulping down the water.
He wiped his mouth, chest rising and falling, and turned to stare at the setting sun.
"Hey, Neph."
"Hm?" she replied, her tone softer now.
"Were you serious earlier… when you said you preferred solitude?" he asked, resting his chin on his knees.
Nephis followed his gaze toward the glowing horizon, her expression unreadable.
"I don't know." She sighed. In all honesty, what she said was in the heat of the mont. But now that she thought about it, she didn't know.
"I see." His gaze drifted down. "Personally, I think no one prefers solitude." Nephis bought her eyes to Asher. 'HIs eyelashes are long...' she thought absentmindedly.
Asher looked down to see a lonely, injured scavenger seeking refuge in the shadow of the statue.
"Few people were simply forced to go into solitude due to circumstances and simply refuse to co out." Nephis also followed Asher's gaze and stared at the scavenger, haggard and wounded, dug itself into a shallow hole, seeking safety from other scavengers.
She understood that feeling all too well.
Assassinations. Betrayals. The blood of loved ones soaking into the floor. There was a ti when stepping outside her room ant risking her life.But that wasn't the only reason she stopped going out.
No. The real reason was…
"They are scared."
Nephis' pupils narrowed as Asher continued. "They are scared that if they co out, they will have to carry responsibilities. If they co out, they won't be able to escape reality again." Asher's eyes narrowed as he gave a wry smile while staring at the sunrise.
"If they co out, people may hurt them again…"
.
.
.
A period of silence ensued between them.
"I see…" Nephis finally said as she got up. Her lips curled up a bit as her gaze lingered on Asher.
'We really are similar…'
Asher continued to stare into the bright sun, He looked distant, thoughtful.
Nephis opened her mouth to speak, but the words faltered. She knew what she wanted to say—she just didn't know how.
Asher broke the silence with a sheepish chuckle. "Sorry. I kinda killed the mood. Wanna get sothing to eat?"
He stood and began to walk away, but paused as Nephis called out.
"Hey."
He turned.
She stepped closer, expression awkward but sincere. Then, with a slight twitch in her fingers, she raised a shaky thumbs-up. Her voice was steady, even if her eyes betrayed a deeper emotion.
"I… I'll protect you."
Asher froze.
For a mont, the world tilted. A shadow flickered behind Nephis—an old, blurred mory rising unbidden from the depths of his mind. It was a won, deep cuts and gnashing blood, laying on the floor. She was clutching a child, his tiny stature trembling in her grasp.
A trembling voice then spoke, a voice he thought he had long forgotten:
"A-Asher… d-don't worry! Mom's going to protect you!"
His hand trembled as the past clawed its way back to the present.
"I-It's fine," he muttered, forcing a smile. "You don't have to…"
But Nephis shook her head.
"I will," she repeated simply.
Then, turning toward where Cassie stood, she added, in a quiet, firm voice filled with sothing unspoken:
"Because I want to."
___________________________
[A/N: Thanks for 400 collections everyone! I am very happy with the rate of growth and sorry for the late chapter upload, I was asleep :p. This is the extra chapter, I will post the daily chapter later!]
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