Nephthys’s POV

Sol fell asleep next to me after many hours of constant running. He looked exhausted both physically and mentally so I tried to be as quiet as possible. Too much had happened in such a short amount of time and while I mainly only needed blood to survive, humans needed to have frequent meals, else they would die. Night had fallen over us and I decided to stay awake and protect Sol against any possible humans that were still looking for us, but I would rather we never encounter them again. They had already nearly killed me once and I didn’t want to go through that horrendous experience again… especially after I had met someone who I could relate to in many ways.

While I quietly stared at the night sky, time continued to pass and the skies continued to change. The two moons shone magnificently right at Sol and I - almost as if we were the last two alive in the world. The skies were clear and when the moons reached their peak point, I felt a surge of urges within me. It was something I had expected, but I didn’t realize how much control my instincts would have over me when being near Sol. I felt an overpowering urge to consume him completely and eventually kill him, but the logical side of me was preventing me from taking such a dreadful action. I had completely forgotten about the cold environment and pursuers, my mind being filled with thoughts of Sol’s warm blood.

I had been in the caves for so long that I had forgotten about the extreme urges I would develop during a short period of time - although, I did still have my extreme moments from time to time in that dreaded mine. The killing was not the main problem for me anymore, it was who I was killing. I had promised to myself that I would protect the person next to me, but he was already on the verge of death from hunger alone - now I had almost killed him. The urges were growing stronger and if I let up my reasonable side for a moment, I was certain that I would get out of control, only being able to stop after there weren't any more beings within my immediate vicinity or when the moons were replaced by the sun. I also thought about leaving now and returning only after the moons had set.

“D-Don’t go!”

I heard Sol whisper painfully from my side and thought that he was speaking to me for a second. When I looked over, he was still under the influence of sleep - he must have been dreaming about someone. He had tightened his grip on me with the only arm he had - it made me extremely happy and I let go of the thought of leaving him alone. The only option I had now was to stick it through for several hours until the sun rose. I tried to distract myself in many ways from distracting my thoughts by looking and thinking about something else to inflicting pain on myself to the point I bled. Several hours passed, and just as I thought I had done it, I mistakenly let my mind wander and I bit into Sol’s nape. Blood flowed out like honey and although it didn’t taste the best, it was nothing to be disappointed about. While I was completely distracted by the taste of the blood flowing from his nape, Sol slowly stirred from his sleep until he eventually opened his eyes.

Sol’s POV

I had a dream that night. It was a nightmarish dream that I couldn’t wake from. Nor and Sol had been with me in one moment, and in the next, they were but piles of bones that had flesh stuck to them. They were unrecognizable, but I just knew it was them - a truly horrendous dream. I screamed as loud as I could for them to not leave, but there was never a reply and the world went black. The next thing I knew was that I felt some pain on the back of my neck - as if something had cut deep into my skin.

I had not opened my eyes because of my exhaustion, and assumed that the pain came from an object behind my neck that had injured me - it was not uncommon after all, especially on the sole of my feet. But the one thing that felt weird was that the pain on my neck had heat permeating on it as if something was breathing on me. I opened my eyes at that moment, I screamed.

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“What the fuck are you doing?!”

I pushed back on Nephthys who was sucking at my nape like a predator would to a prey. For the first time in a long time, I feared her as a person. It scared me that she was single-mindedly drinking away at my blood without even caring that I had screamed or tried to push me away. She held on tightly to me and I couldn’t fight back with only one arm. I bloodied my hand with the blood that was flowing out of me and fired magic onto her stomach area and she was blown out of the little divot we had fallen asleep in.

She was clearly in pain and I could see that I had burnt through her cloth and a significant area of her skin. Logically I knew that I should be running over to her and trying to save her, but the fear I was feeling had taken over my body to the point that my body couldn’t decide what to do. I was slumped over in the divot, unable to figure out what I should be doing. It was still dark out and I wouldn’t be able to do anything, let alone move, until morning. I looked around and spotted some vines that had frosted over and thought up an idea to keep myself safe throughout the night. I crawled out of the divot on all three and walked towards the vines; I thought they were sturdiness enough and threw some into the divot. Then I walked over to… Nephthys.

Her stomach had sustained significant injuries from my ball of fire, but that was not the focus of my attention. I looked at her face which seemed to be filled with pain, worry, anxiety… emotions that were completely different from just a few moments ago. She seemed like she was trying to say something but she grimaced every time she opened her mouth. I didn’t pay it any mind and slowly got closer to her; I grabbed her one of her arms before she could do anything again and dragged her back into the divot. Then, I tied her to the tree trunk to prevent both her capture and my death - this was the best solution. It wasn’t exactly a tie around a tree trunk since it was too hard to do with one hand, but I managed to loop it over enough time to prevent the vine from loosening. Everything she had done for me up to this point slipped out of my mind and the predominant memory of her now was those demonic eyes that stared at me like I was an ant to the eyes of beasts - fear, not reason, had taken over me.

I stared at her as I tried to fall asleep again, but that was a foolish wish. Waking up to nearly being killed had made my brain go into overdrive and my heart was still pounding hard enough that I was getting lightheaded. I was exhausted more than ever and I had lost a significant amount of blood. Touching the spot where she had bitten me, it seemed that the blood had already clotted. After settling down, my mind began to race. Why had she bitten me? What was she? Perhaps a beastman? But of what race? Did she want to kill me? Was everything she had done a lie? Was I just food to her? What was I to her in the first place? Did I even know anything about her? Maybe she was sent by the guards of the cave! Yes! She was a spy - She must be killed! I bet her name isn’t even Nephthys!

Illogical thoughts led to even more illogical thoughts, but I still believed the stories I was making up about her in my head. I got prepared to kill her, but when I turned around, she was making a face that even I could not ignore at that moment. Tears were welling up in her alluring crimson eyes, her eyes glistening as the moon sank from the skies, and she seemed to be in an extreme amount of pain. Her beautiful dark-blue hair was all messed up and she appeared to be genuinely regretful. When I stared into her eyes, I felt a strong emotion of worry and relief. I was confused why she was relieved, but I don’t believe that it was a selfish type of relief. The confusion led to hesitation and eventually I was no longer sure as to what I was doing. Had she not been my savior? Without her I would not have been alive in the first place - I had made a promise to protect her.

I cleared my mind and although I was still anxious, I moved closer to her and undid the vine that held her to the tree. I still half-expected her to kill me at the very moment I undid the contraption holding her, but all that came was a heartfelt embrace. For a few moments, I was shocked and scared that she would sink her teeth into my skin once again. But that time never came, and all I felt on my skin were the tears of Nephthys as they dripped down her face. I don’t know if she was a silent crier or just extremely aware of our situation, but she never emitted a sound as she cried. After a few moments, I embraced her back with the arm I had and realized that Nephthys had fallen asleep in my arms. A lot of questions were still swirling in my mind, but I told myself that I would ask her the following morning and closed my eyes.

With my eyes closed, I made some promises to myself. I swore that I would find Nor and Rosa no matter where or how I found them - seeing them with my own eyes was a necessity to me. Additionally, I would try to uncover the things Nepththys had to refrain from telling me and make my judgment of her only afterward - regardless of what exactly she was. Thinking back to the time I had woken up to her fangs, I was still instilled with fear, but I was now certain that the Nephthys that had saved me time and time again was as real as the fear-instilling one. It was undeniable that she had bitten me in the nape, but the actions she had taken leading up to that point in time were also undeniable. I didn’t know which side of her was the real one, but I would find out soon enough.

“Good night… Nephthys”