18 (this paragraph had bad words apparently so I'll tell you the gist) The room crackled with tension thicker than any fog. Niko’s eyes darted between Ephries, his expression incredulous, and The Weaver, his pitch-black face seeming to absorb the light in the room. The confession hung heavy, a suffocating weight on her chest. Finally, Ephries broke the silence. “If we can make a situation where The Absolute can leave Nova’s body without killing him, he will live. Even if he is no longer himself and loses his memory, he’ll still live,” Niko thought that Ephries’s compromise was outrageous. If she spent so long trying to save him only for him to be already three-quarters dead, it wasn’t worth it. The amount of damage from mind rewriting would be substantial beyond healing. “Wait,” Ephries spoke suddenly, pointing a finger at The Weaver. “Don’t you have The Needle on you right now?” “Yes,” “We could use that to get into The Boundless Box,” Niko’s face displayed visible confusion. Why would they need to go inside the boundless box? What would they even do there? Ephries continued. “If we can kill The Absolute from inside The Boundless box, Nova may wake up from the puppetry,” The Weaver nodded slowly. “It’s true that it’s a gamble. It may result in The Absolute being free,” “Do we want that?” The Weaver stared at Niko with a look that told her she was stupid. “No, child,” he said firmly. “If that happens, he will control the Laws and The Crochet,” “I thought he was banished from his status,” Ephries stepped in. “Once a god, always a god.” Niko slammed her hands on the table. “Tell me about saving Nova, not about what else could happen,” she was growing impatient and angry. The Weaver chuckled. “An attitude like that will kill you someday,” Niko pointed a finger at Ephries. “You said that going inside the box could free Nova,” “Indeed,” He replied. “Tell me how,” “By severing the connection between the two, we can remove The Absolute’s energy entirely. Since Nova has been a vessel for only ten years, the energy is lacking,” Niko nodded her head. “Ephries, do you have a bunch of overpowered weapons?” He reached into a pocket on his jacket and pulled out a 5-metre-long chain with glowing spikes attached to each link. “I own almost everything,” he commented. Niko smiled. “Will you be able to help?” “No, I need to take care of The Dreamscape,” Ephries said firmly. “Oh,” “I will be wishing you on,”
19 “You’re up early,” Ephries remarked, seeing Niko walk out of her ‘bedroom’ door. Niko rubbed her eyes. “Really? What time is it?” she said sleepily. Ephries chuckled to himself. “I don’t know,” “Where’s The Weaver?” “He went to the Arena. You should probably get changed,” Niko looked down. She was still wearing the same clothes from yesterday, the day before, and the day before. “Into what?” “There are some Artefacts you can wear.” Niko said, beginning to walk towards a single floating gateway. “Actually…” She spun around. “Could you teach me how to fully use this thing?” “Sure,” He says. A few minutes later, they are standing in the middle of The Arena while The Weaver watches from afar. “First,” Ephries starts, holding up a finger. “You need to know some things about Artefacts…”
