Asher wore a grimace, "It's about time you woke up. Any longer, I thought I would have to kiss you."
Dahila turned around slowly, placing a finger on her plump lips. Her smile was teasing and dangerous.
"Ah~ I wouldn't have minded."
Asher froze. His eyes widened before he spun around, covering his nose with his palm.
This… thing!
It was always a nightmare talking to her — pun intended.
Soft ripples moved under his feet as Dahila sauntered closer, her hands folded behind her back. The air shimmered faintly around her, like heat rising off glass.
"Now, my prince…" she purred, leaning close enough for her voice to tickle his ear. "Surely you have a couple of questions for me?"
Asher gritted his teeth, forcing himself to face her despite the heat creeping up his neck. "First of all—why are you acting cuter than usual?!"
Dahila blinked innocently, tilting her head.
"Am I? Maybe you're just… growing into me."
For a moment, the playful glint vanished from Dahila's eyes. She licked her lips and turned away, her tone soft but sharp.
"Did you really think your body could inherit my power all at once?"
"No…" She cut herself, looking back over her shoulder — her crimson eyes now glowing faintly, while her face wore a unnaturally serious expression. "Did you really think my power was that weak?"
Asher's stomach dropped. His instincts screamed at him to step back — and he did.He wasn't stupid. He knew Attributes could evolve, but the way she said that…
He gulped.
Then, just as suddenly, her serious look melted away. Dahila chuckled, waving her hand as if brushing off the tension.
"Relax~. I only lifted some of the restraints I'd put on my power." She sighed, dramatically. "What I didn't account for was how ridiculously strong your soul's defences were. It banished my consciousness for a bit."
Her lips twisted in mild irritation, "Thankfully it won't happen again... I had to resort to use that despicable trinket.."
Asher analysed the information carefully. He was sure the trinket meant the nightmare spell but despicable... did this thing even have morals?
He exhaled."So. The dream core—it shows my progression toward the next 'power-up' you'll give me, right?"
Dahila pretended to think for a second before smiling sweetly."Pretty much~."
Asher groaned."So… how do I get these dream fragments?"
She smiled.
He stared.
"…Dahila."
Still smiling.
He sighed, rubbing his temple.
"Don't tell me you don't know—"
"It'll fill up whenever you're in life-or-death situations," she said breezily. Then added, after a pause, "…I think."
He blinked.
"You think?!"
Dahila coughed delicately.
"I had approximately 0.6 nanoseconds after realizing my consciousness was about to collapse to weave a new core and link it to your soul. Naturally, I didn't have time to fully calibrate it. So, I passed it off to that cursed trinket."
She smiled, proud of herself. "So, no, I have no idea how the fragments work!"
A vein popped on Asher's forehead.
He muttered under his breath, "This bitch…"
Dahila pretended not to hear, her grin stretching wider.
"Oh, and by the way… shouldn't you be doing something about the Awakened monster approaching you?"
Asher froze. Then sighed.
"Ah... Yes.. I should something about that shouldn't I?"
The world began to twist — the liquid glass of the soul sea melting into heat and sand. His vision blurred, then snapped back into color.
He stood once more in the endless desert.
Asher rose, dusted himself off, and squinted ahead — at a hulking, grotesque bear lumbering toward him, its flesh half-charred and eyes glowing like molten amber.
A grin tugged at his lips as a Dao sparked into existence in his palm.
"Come on then…" he whispered, his shadow stretching long behind him. "Let's dance, bastard."
****
"Good speech, Sir Nephis!"
"Long live Sir Nephis!"
Nephis sighed as she stepped off the stage, her eyebrow twitching every few seconds.
Some absolute genius had shouted, "Let's keep Saint Zerei's joke alive till he comes back!" — and naturally, the whole hall had erupted in laughter and cheers.
She resisted the overwhelming urge to set someone's coat on fire.If Asher were here, he'd probably be grinning ear to ear at the chaos…So, in his honor, she endured. Barely.
Around her, the Dreamers were laughing, chatting, and swarming the buffet tables. A full ice-cream bar was being restocked every ten minutes — Asher's "tradition."Nephis would have joined the others, but she had something else to do first.
Spotting a familiar table, she made her way over and sat down gracefully on an extra chair. Her tone softened as she looked ahead."Aiko."
Aiko paused mid-bite, gave Nephis a single glance… and then turned away, spooning more ice cream into her mouth like she hadn't heard a thing.
Stev, sitting beside her, chuckled nervously and nudged her shoulder."Wow, really? You're just gonna ignore Changing Star herself?"
Aiko kept eating. Scoop. Munch. Scoop.
Stev looked helplessly at Nephis, who simply gave him a small, knowing smile.
Her eyes flicked toward Kido and Gemma, sitting across the table. Kido was currently feeding Gemma a spoonful of ice cream with stars in his eyes."How is it, honey…?"
"Mmm, it's delicious. Probably tastes better because you fed it to me, baby."
"Aww—"
They froze.
Nephis was staring at them with an utterly deadpan expression.
Both straightened up immediately, pretending to be extremely interested in the food in front of them.
Stev chuckled into his cup.
Nephis smiled faintly, then turned back to Aiko, her voice calm.
"I just wanted to say… sorry. About Ash—"
"Yeah, yeah, it's fine," Aiko interrupted before she could finish.
Nephis blinked.
Aiko sighed, twirling her spoon.
"Honestly, I was… kind of glad you went back for him. You didn't have to. And yet you did."
She smiled faintly — soft, sincere. "So… thanks. For being with Asher till the very end."
Nephis froze for a second, caught off guard. She glanced around; Stev, Kido, even Gemma were smiling in quiet agreement.
Something warm stirred in her chest. She smiled too, scooping up a spoonful of ice cream and taking a bite.
Aiko leaned back, crossing her arms and smirking."Buuut, if you really want forgiveness…"
Nephis tilted her head. "Yes?"
"…I think monetary compensation would work just fine."
Nephis choked. Hard.
"W–what?"
Aiko grinned wickedly.
"Hey, emotional damage isn't cheap, Sir Nephis."