Hearing her voice—that low, calm, unmistakable voice—Sunny froze like he'd just stepped into a dream. Or a trap. Same difference, really.
He didn't want to turn around.
But of course, he did.
Slowly, like a man heading to his execution, Sunny turned. He tried to brace for it. For her. But even with all the mental armor in the world, nothing really prepared him for seeing Nephis again.
And gods… she was *exactly* as he remembered. And nothing like it.
Radiant. Impossibly so. Her white armor gleamed, untouched by dust or blood, the blue fire of her mantle curling softly off her shoulders like living moonlight. Her silver hair was smooth, perfectly combed, not a strand out of place. Serene, graceful, effortless.
She looked like a legend. Like a heroine from a tale told by candlelight. And somehow, worse—she looked like the same Neph he remembered.
Like she hadn't changed at all.
Which made the contrast unbearable.
He looked like something that had been scraped off the underside of a Titan's boot. [Nevermore's Embrace] was in shambles, both him and the armor scuffed, battered, and stained. His cloak hung wrong. His hair was too long. He probably smelled like ash and blood.
A perfect reunion.
Sunny forced out a smile. Brittle, awkward, hollow.
"Hey, Neph. Long time no see."
He kept it light. Pretended this was fine. That he wasn't bleeding inside just from the sight of her.
The worst part wasn't that she looked untouchable.
It was that *he* looked like the one who'd fallen apart.
Which was ridiculous. He hadn't fallen apart. He was doing great. Fantastic, really. Lived in a Titan now. Ate like a noble. Rich beyond imagination. Commanded an army of nightmares.
She should be the one shaken.
…But of course she wasn't.
Neph sighed, her tone soft. Measured.
"I'm glad to see you too, Sunny. It's good that you're in one piece."
He shrugged. A lazy gesture meant to hide the pulse that had jumped in his throat.
"What, you didn't expect me to fall apart without you?"
She met his eyes with that same calm certainty, then shook her head slightly.
"No. On the contrary, I knew you'd be fine."
A pause.
"After all, a cockroach like you is not easy to kill."
Sunny snorted. "Now that's just impolite."
He should've been annoyed. Instead, he felt oddly… comforted. As if that jab was her way of saying she still knew him.
Nephis blinked, confused for a moment. Then—she chuckled.
An actual chuckle. Soft, real.
"Oh. Sorry. I meant it as a compliment."
***
He hated how good it felt to be near her again.
To feel that familiar steadiness in the air. Neph had always been his anchor when everything went to hell. He hadn't realized how much he'd relied on that until it was gone.
But seeing her again was a nightmare wrapped in nostalgia.
Because she wasn't just Nephis anymore.
She was *Changing Star*, the resistance's secret figurehead. A rallying symbol. And he—he was Gunlaug's monster. The dark Duke.
They weren't supposed to meet. Especially not here. Not now.
And yet… she hadn't changed. Not where it mattered.
He let himself really look at her.
She was stronger now. He could feel it—not just in the pressure of her aura, but in the silence around her. Neph had always been confident, but now? There was gravity to her. She stood like someone who no longer questioned her place in the world.
She was dangerous in a way she hadn't been before.
Beautiful and terrifying. All the more distant.
Still, he wasn't the same idiot she'd left behind either. The Dark City had forged something colder, harder, smarter inside him. He wasn't sure what he was now, but it wasn't weak.
If she was a blade of fire, he had become the shadow it cast.
He blinked and realized he'd gone quiet too long. The silence between them was starting to stretch. Fray.
'Say something. Anything. Ask how she's been? No, too awkward. You're better than this—'
Before he could come up with something passably clever, Nephis broke the silence.
"So what brings you to the Bright Castle? Are you… are you back?"
The way she said it—so quiet, so still. Like the rest of the question was too fragile to voice.
Sunny scratched the back of his neck, looking for an out.
"Oh, you know. Just… doing chores. Shopping with friends."
She blinked once. That serene, unreadable gaze didn't waver.
"Shopping with friends?"
"What? Is it so weird that I have friends besides you and Cass?"
His voice came out dry, a little bitter. But there was warmth under it too—twisted nostalgia and something that almost felt like hope.
Nephis tilted her head, a faint smile on her lips.
"I see."
Then she turned slightly away, her voice cool and even.
"Do you want to go somewhere and talk?"
For a second, Sunny's heart skipped. Not from excitement.
From panic.
Gods, what was she thinking?
He shook his head, trying not to sound harsh.
"Sorry. No can do. I've got a date set up."
Then, more quietly:
"But I'll be at Alice's tonight. If nothing changes."
She didn't reply right away.
But the air between them shifted.
Nephis stared at him for a moment. Her gaze sharper than before. Then:
"You're hiding in that alley because you're… waiting for your date? Who is your date, Sunny?"
He waved a hand, dismissive.
"Oh, just a friend. Really pretty. Electric green eyes. Maybe you've heard of them."
Her face didn't change. But the way she stood—there was a subtle tension there. Barely noticeable. Like something in her spine had gone rigid.
Then she said, calmly:
"Oh. I don't know her. But good for her."
Right then, of course, the universe decided to make things worse.
A familiar voice floated into the alley:
"Sunny? Hey, are you here?"
Sunny turned, relieved.
Kai—tall, stunning, all bright smiles and auburn hair. Armor like a painting, blue silk beneath. Green eyes sparkling like they were lit from within.
...Great timing, really.
Except—when Sunny turned back to Nephis—
Everything changed.
She was staring at Kai like he was a ghost. No—worse. Like he was a wound torn open.
Nephis stepped back.
Her face had gone pale.
Her eyes were wide, too wide—glass-like, unblinking. That calm, unshakable serenity was gone. Stripped away.
She looked horrified.
Not scared. Not angry.
Devastated.
Sunny went cold.
He didn't understand what she was seeing.
But whatever it was—it broke something in her.
"*"
Sunny had seen Nephis stand in front of devourers and abominations without so much as blinking. He'd watched her face down the impossible like it was routine. Calm. Cold. Unshakeable.
So when she tensed—**visibly**, instantly—like a taut bowstring about to snap, it was jarring.
More than that… it was terrifying.
Her entire body locked up. Every muscle went rigid, her breath hitched, and a subtle shiver ran through her limbs. Not a dramatic one, not the kind that would draw attention—but Sunny noticed. Of course he did.
And her eyes… wide. Frozen.
_"It can't be. It can't be…"_
His heart skipped.
He had never seen Neph look afraid before.
And now?
Now she looked horrified.
Like the world had suddenly shifted under her feet and left her hanging over an abyss.
He followed her stare. Kai. The charming, smiling archer who had just appeared at the edge of the alley, looking around like a lost puppy. That same stupid radiant aura of friendliness wrapped around him, his expression openly curious.
"…Was Kai actually some kind of primordial evil?"
Sunny felt his stomach twist. He didn't think so—no, he *knew* that wasn't right. But what else could make **Nephis** react like that?
For a moment, pure instinct kicked in. He turned back toward Kai and raised one hand—ready to summon the Midnight Shard. Ready to fight. Because if **she** was scared of this guy, that meant something truly wrong was happening.
But then… Kai tilted his head slightly and gave him a confused little smile.
"Uh, Sunny? Who's your friend?"
There was nothing monstrous there. No evil, no malice. Just that same pretty-boy cluelessness.
Sunny hesitated.
This didn't make sense.
Plenty of people in the castle knew Kai. Talked to him. Laughed with him. No whispers, no warnings, nothing suspicious. If he were some kind of hidden horror, someone would've noticed.
So what the hell was wrong with Neph?
Keeping his shadow on Kai, Sunny turned again, slowly this time, and looked back at Changing Star.
She was still frozen. Still staring.
Not at Kai exactly, but *through* him. Like she couldn't comprehend what she was seeing.
"Uh… Neph?"
His voice came out soft. Uncertain. He didn't know how else to break the silence.
She flinched.
Actually flinched. Then dragged her gaze away from Kai like it hurt to do so.
After a long second, she leaned forward—still tense, still unnerved—and whispered:
"…Sunny. What is Night doing here?"
He blinked. "He's the friend I was telling you about."
She shook her head, voice tighter this time. "No. I mean… what is he *doing here*?"
The emphasis landed hard. *Here*.
Sunny frowned. "I… saved him in the ruins. He's helping me out."
Her expression twisted, caught somewhere between disbelief and dawning dread.
"No," she said again, a little louder. "I mean, what is Night doing here—*on the Forgotten Shore*?"
She sounded *desperate* now.
Like her whole understanding of reality was crumbling under her feet.
Sunny stared at her, blank. Then frowned more deeply.
"Wait. Did you two know each other before all this?"
Nephis gave him the weirdest look. Like he'd just asked her if the sun was wet. Her mouth opened, then shut. And then, finally, she said:
"You… you don't know who he is?"
There was real disbelief in her voice now. Like *he* was the one being crazy.
And that's when Kai—polite, patient, just sort of *there*—smiled again and said cheerfully:
"He really doesn't. Isn't it wonderful?"
Sunny squinted at him. "Okay. No. What is happening? Please. Someone make sense."
Then Nephis, of all people, **whispered** in the most unhinged, breathless voice he'd ever heard from her:
"That's Night, you idiot! *Night* from Nightingale! *The* Night!"
…
There was a pause. A beat.
Sunny stared at her like she'd grown a second head.
"What are you talking about? Is that… like, a gang?"
Nephis paled even more.
No, really—how was that *possible*?
She looked at Kai again like he might explode. Then whispered:
"It's… only the best and most famous idol group of the last decade. Triple Orpheus winners. One hundred consecutive weeks at the top of all charts. Six diamond albums. That Nightingale. *That* Night. The lead vocalist…"
Sunny just stood there, blinking.
His brain refused to process it.
'Wait. Wait, are you saying…'
Nephis wasn't scared.
She was starstruck.
She was literally standing here paralyzed because her favorite singer—her actual idol—was in front of her, wearing magical armor and smiling like a dork.
"…Oh gods," Sunny muttered.
And then he **burst into laughter.**
"GODS! You're a FANGIRL?! What the Spell?! Oh, that's too funny—"
He wheezed. Actually *wheezed*. Wiped a tear from his eye.
"Wait, wait! Is this the guy? *That* Gale guy?! The one you waited hours for, just to download the album—?"
Nephis blushed. Just a little.
"…Oh. You remember."
He nearly doubled over.
Stoic, invincible, unflinching Changing Star, brought low by a boy band vocalist with a pretty voice and shiny hair.
Nothing in the Dark City could compare to this moment.
He wasn't even jealous. This was too good.
What were the odds?! *Her*Oshi, of all people, stuck in the Forgotten Shore? In the same damn castle?
It was like a dream. A stupid, magical, ridiculous dream.
Meanwhile, Nephis stood frozen. Mortified. Her ears pink.
Kai, bless him, just watched the whole thing unfold with that polite, faintly confused idol smile.
They both glared at Sunny—Neph with embarrassment, Kai with concern—but he couldn't stop laughing until his lungs gave out.
Finally, gasping:
"Okay… okay. Sorry. That was just—hah. You'll never live this down. Anyway, yeah. Night's been here for about two and a half years. Lives in the castle."
Neph blinked. "Two and a half years? But… but I thought Nightingale was just on hiatus for Gale's solo project…"
Kai smiled sheepishly. "I'm afraid not. I've spent all this time here, in the Dark City. The agency probably scrambled to make something up. Poor guys. They can't even do a posthumous comeback—since technically I'm not dead. Just… asleep."
Nephis nodded, quietly. She still looked dazed.
Trying to shift the atmosphere, Kai smiled and said brightly:
"Anyway, it's so nice to meet another friend of Sunny's! What a surprise. I thought he was completely… uh, solitary. I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name. Was it Neph?"
Sunny grinned. Cleared his throat. Then, smug:
"Oh, right! Forgot to introduce you. My bad."
He gestured between them.
"Night, this is Nephis. Though these days, she goes by another name. You might've heard it—meet Changing Star of the Immortal Flame clan."
…
Now it was **Kai's** turn to freeze.
His smile flickered. One eye twitched ever so slightly.
But he recovered fast—idol instincts, probably. Blinked once, twice, then bowed slightly, voice as smooth as honey:
"Oh. It's… a pleasure to meet you, my lady. I've… heard so much. It's an honor."
Nephis turned away quickly. Her face *definitely* red now.
She stared at the alley wall like it would help.
Then murmured, awkward and flustered:
"…We'll talk. At Alice's."
And fled.
Just *awkwardly slinked away*, in full retreat.
Sunny snickered under his breath as he patted Kai's back.
"C'mon, superstar. We're meeting Kido soon."
Best day *ever*.