Nephis stared at him tiredly, straining to understand his words.
The radiance was gone from beneath her skin, and instead of it, white flames had once again appeared, licking weakly at her wounds. However, their power was almost gone: instead of healing, all they could do now was stem the bleeding and prevent Changing Star from dying right there and then.
A few seconds later, she opened her mouth, letting blood flow over her lips, and said in a low, barely audible voice:
"What… are you talking about?"
Sunny snarled.
"Drop the act. Your performance was, indeed, masterful. But don't forget who taught you how to lie in the first place. Did you really think that you would be able to deceive me?"
She was silent for a few moments, then whispered:
"I don't… understand."
He looked at her and asked, his voice shaking with anger:
"Why did you do it? Why?"
Nephis blinked and drew in a shaky breath, but didn't say anything, looking at him with pain and confusion.
Realizing that she wasn't going to answer, Sunny spat:
"Why did you throw the fight?!"
She lingered for a moment, then said quietly:
"...I didn't."
A bitter smile appeared on Sunny's lips. Shaking his head, he said:
"You almost made it work, you know. I almost bought it! But after all of it was done and I could think clearly, some things really didn't add up. They didn't make any sense! No matter how I looked at it, something felt wrong."
The Spire swayed, drowning their voices in the sound of breaking stone. Not paying it any attention, Sunny continued:
"First! I know for a fact that you are somehow able to support two augmentations at the same time. You did so while fighting Gunlaug. One to enhance your sword, the other to enhance your body. I rarely forget things, so how could I not remember this? Once you were heavily injured, you summoned back the flames from the sword and were able to simultaneously strengthen yourself and heal those wounds.
And yet, you only used one when fighting me. Funny, isn't it?"
Nephis stared at him, not saying anything. Then, she uttered:
"My powers were exhausted…"
Sunny spat.
"I would have believed that, maybe, if not for your other mistakes. Back at the top of the Spire, you had an opportunity to cut off my arm, ending the fight right there and then. That was the best course of action, the swiftest and most effective attack you could have performed. But instead, you chose a less advantageous method and went for my head, striking with the flat of the blade."
A grim expression appeared on his face.
"Someone else might have made that choice, but not you. Not Changing Star, the sword saint. The only reason for you to pass on that golden opportunity is that you never really wanted to win. Did you?"
He looked up and grimaced, pain assaulting his mind like a furious sea.
"...And finally, why did you even stay there at the top of the tower, waiting for me to come? If you wanted to escape, you could have gone to the Gateway as soon as you realized what the Soul Conduit was, not even giving me a chance to save myself. But you did not. You just sat there quietly and waited, ignoring your chance to reach the Gateway first. So… why?"
He looked at her and shouted, the pain finally finding its way into his voice:
"Why the hell did you pretend to go all out on me while planning to lose from the start?!"
Nephis stared at him for a while, her face pale and inexorable.
Then, she sighed and looked away.
After a moment, she said quietly:
"Maybe it is because I am far away from home, too."
***
Sunny stared at her for a couple of moments, then snarled.
"What? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
Changing Star turned her head and looked at him calmly, then smiled.
"Alright, Sunny. You caught me. Now go. This tower won't last much longer."
As she said that, the white flames flowing from her wounds suddenly flashed, growing stronger and brighter. Her injuries started to heal once again, not as fast as in the past, but still with considerable speed. Her eyes shined with fearsome radiance.
He gritted his teeth.
"Like hell I will! Not before you give me an answer."
Nephis shrugged tiredly, then looked him in the eyes.
"What it is that you want to know?"
Sunny clenched his fists.
"Why even fight me if you wanted to let me win all along?"
She sighed. As he stared at her with burning intensity, Neph said:
"Isn't it obvious? Because if I didn't, you wouldn't go."
Turning away, she lingered for a moment, and then continued:
"People… people are usually either cruel or kind. But not you. You can be both, depending on the situation. Either ruthless or compassionate. Either cruel or kind. So that's what I did.
I created a situation that would allow you to be ruthless and cruel. To leave me behind without showing any mercy."
Sunny stared at her, his fists trembling.
"But why? Why would you doom yourself to save me? What happened to your goddamned goal?! Didn't you tell me that you will sacrifice anything, anyone, to achieve it?!"
Nephis looked at him and smiled bitterly.
"Why? Are you the only one who is allowed to grow and change? Can't I change too, Sunny?"
She turned away and said tiredly, her voice full of invisible, but crushing weight:
"...Yes. I did say such a thing. But saying and doing are two different things, Sunny. Once it all started… once all those people were dying because of what I have done… once I suffered defeat after defeat… it was more difficult than I could have ever imagined. It was… distasteful."
He shook his head in shock.
"So… that's it? You just gave up? After all that crap, you just decided that it was too much for you?"
Changing Star remained quiet for a bit, then slowly shook her head.
"...You don't really understand me at all, do you, Sunny?"
Facing him, she grinned.
"Give up? No, I didn't give up. I didn't abandon my goal. I just realized that I was not ambitious enough."
As white flames grew brighter in her eyes, Nephis said:
"I am going to destroy the Spell, and all those who stand in my way. I will accomplish everything that I want. But I will also do it in the way that I want. I will do it in a way that suits my desire, without compromising anything. Without sacrificing my sense of right and wrong."
Illuminated by white radiance, her pale, bloodied face seemed like a face of a demon.
"Manipulating all those people, causing their deaths? I would do it again. I would kill more if I needed to. Because it was fair and right. I gave them the chance to save themselves, or die fighting against the Spell. There is no better way."
For a moment, her eyes were aflame with passion. However, then, her expression suddenly changed. Looking down, Nephis added in a quiet voice:
"...But abandoning you here would be vile, and wrong. It would leave a bad taste in my mouth. Just like leaving a helpless blind girl to die alone would. I won't do it. If I do, I would be no better than those who I want to destroy. What's the point of reaching my goal if, in the process, I become the same as those whom I hate?"
She pierced him with a burning gaze and said:
"No, Sunny. My goal hasn't changed. It's just that reaching it by using a wrong path is worse than not reaching it at all. But why do you care, anyway? Don't you think that it is insane? Don't you think that I am despicable and vile?
So, go! Why are you hesitating?!"
Sunny stared at her, a deep frown appearing on his face. Finally, he asked:
"I'm hesitating because of you, fool. What about you?"
Nephis smiled.
"What about me? Do you think I will die here, in this tower? No. I will… I will be fine. I will escape it and survive, somehow. I'll find another way out.
No matter how long it's going to take me, I will. Nothing will stop me. You know it won't…"
He stared at her for a while, then glanced at the shimmering Gateway.
The crack traveling through the stone balcony was already almost upon the circle of runes, threatening to destroy them.
…Salvation was so close.
He could almost taste it.
Turning away from the dais, Sunny shook his head.
"That is a horrible plan. You want to travel around the Dream Realm battling Nightmare Creatures? Fine. Let's do it together. We can try to go through the Hollow Mountains and reach the human Citadels on the other side. And that's just the south.
We can also try north, east, and west, searching for an unclaimed Gateway. Two of us will have a better chance to survive. The two of us, together… it's better than being alone. Right?"
She hesitated for a long time, then closed her eyes and slowly shook her head. When she spoke, her voice was wistful and tired:
"...No. I can't. I can't let you stay, Sunny. Go! Go and meet your sister. There's something waiting for you in the real world, at least.
All that's waiting for me is emptiness, bloodshed, and graves. If I return, the same thing that happened in the Bright Castle will repeat itself, over and over again, until there's nothing else. So go while you can."
The runes of the Gateway shimmered, as if on the verge of disappearing.
He gritted his teeth.
"...No."
Nephis opened her eyes and looked at him, a sense of sorrow appearing on her face.
"Leave me, Sunny. Please. Go."
He shook his head stubbornly.
"I don't want to."
Changing Star was silent for a moment, looking at him with a pained expression. And then she said, making his world crumble:
"Go… Lost from Light."
His eyes widened.
Deep within his soul, something moved and rose from slumber, triumphant. Unbreakable, eternal, irresistible. Complete, perfect, and sweet.
…Before Sunny knew what he was doing, his hand shot forward, the ghostly blade of the Moonlight Shard appearing in it.
"Stop."
His hand froze, the tip of the stiletto mere centimeters away from Neph's eye.
Trembling, he looked at his arm and willed it to move forward.
But it didn't. It didn't move at all. It was as though that hand did not belong to him anymore.
As deep horror drowned his heart, Sunny moved his gaze and looked at Nephis, his eyes wide with shock.
"H… how…"
A sad smile appeared on her lips.
"How did I know? …Cassie told me."
Neph sighed and looked away.
"She was the first one to understand the meaning of her vision. She knew that the two of us will end up fighting each other, and that I was going to lose. Maybe even die. She just didn't know how, when, and why. So, Cassie told me your secret, in hopes that it will save my life one day. But I… I hoped that I would never have to use it."
Sunny stared at her, too shocked to say anything. She smiled sadly.
"So, then. I guess… I guess this is goodbye. Ta… I hope that you'll take care of yourself, Sunny. Now, go. Escape before it is too late.'
Even though Sunny didn't do anything, his body moved on its own. Standing up, he turned around and walked toward the shining ring of the Gateway.
Step, step. Another step.
'Stop. Stop!'
But his body would not listen. It just continued to move forward, indifferent to his commands. A dull ache settled somewhere in the center of his heart.
'Stop!'
There was nothing he could do. He was a miraculous shadow bound to a master; once the master gave a command, he had no choice but to obey.
Sunny slowly walked up the steps of the dais and approached the circle of runes, then crossed the iron ring without slowing down. As soon as he did, the runes shone with intense light.
His body began to glow, too.
So in the end, he did win. Not because he was stronger or a better fighter than Nephis. But simply because his will to survive never wavered, while hers became twisted by doubt.
'No! I refuse!'
The ethereal radiance grew brighter and brighter, until it became hard to discern the human figure in its middle.
'No!'
…And then, suddenly, it disappeared, leaving only emptiness behind.
Sunny was gone, finally free of this long and arduous nightmare. The journey back to reality that had taken him more than a year was now over.
He made it out alive.
Just a few seconds after he disappeared in a flash of light, the crack in the stone reached the circle of runes and broke it.
The shine of the Gateway grew unstable and swiftly faded away.
At the same time, the artificial sun of the Forgotten Shore ignited one last time with a bright, intense explosion of light, and then extinguished.
...Left alone in the collapsing tower and with no more light to shine upon her, the beaten, broken figure of Changing Star disappeared into the shadows.
[End of volume two: Demon of Change.]