The guards were ordered to attack Changing Star and her followers by Tessai, and they did. And the throne room turned into madness. The followers of Changing Star screamed her name like some kind of crazed heretics.
When the Bright Lord died, something strange happened to Changing Star. Her eyes opened wide, losing focus, and then she swayed a little and fell to one knee.
Her body was busy rearranging itself after absorbing a huge amount of soul essence, which made Nephis vulnerable for a few moments.
After stopping Caster from assassinating Nephis, Sunny rose and went toward her.
Reaching her, and at the same time Kai and Cassie reached her too.
The three stood their ground, protecting Nephis; they needed to wait until Faraam intervened.
Cassie looked at the dead body of Gunlaug...
'Is it really over? Have I changed fate? The golden serpent is dead; what I saw shouldn't happen anymore.'
Yet... she still was anxious; if changing fate was that easy... many seers before her would have done that before.
The guards and the followers of Changing Star fought each other like mad beasts. Many had died in the few minutes that passed, but they soon were stopped by the Hunters and Handmaidens.
"Stop this madness at once!"
A scream pierced through the battlefield, and everyone looked back at where the throne was.
There, Faraam stood in front of Gunlaug's dead body.
"Are you some kind of mad beasts killing each other?! Tell me?!"
"She has killed the lord!" one of the guards screams.
"So what?! It was an honorable duel, accepted by both, and they knew that death would be their fate if they lost. Don't disgrace the honor of my lord anymore!"
"We will not accept her as the new lord!"
The guards scream in unison.
"How dare you?! She had won against Gunlaug. It's her rightful place!"
The followers of Changing Star screamed back.
"Stop this! The era of a lord chosen by blood ends now! From now on, the citizens of the Bright Castle will choose their lord. For a week a vote will be held to choose between the candidates."
Faraam looked at everyone in front of him for a moment, then continued, "I myself will oversee the voting and make it as honest as possible. I swear it upon my lord's name."
The guards and followers of Changing Star discussed among themselves, and finally, both of them agreed. So did the Handmaidens and Hunters.
The reason the guards agreed was because of their numbers; in the end, they had the highest number of people in the ranks.
"Very well then. The candidates will talk about their plans and what they plan to do in this room each morning at sunrise. You have one week to vote for each candidate; after that, no vote shall be taken. You can vote at the gambling house. Everyone dismissed!"
With hatred in their eyes, both the guards and the rat slums went on their way.
It was later found out about the death of Harus, the executioner, and Tessai, the leader of the guards. With no one to lead the guards, they fell into chaos as many guards chose to be the new leader, creating a conflict, and thus the advantage of numbers was no more.
And since both Seishan and Faraam chose to forfeit in the run for lordship, all of their follower votes went toward Changing Star.
She had won the voting with a staggering 85% vote of all sleepers in the dark city.
***
Time passed terribly fast. With the victory of Changing Star and the smooth transition of power, the preparations for the Siege of the Crimson Spire finished.
In a small room in the depths of the ancient citadel, eight people gathered around a table.
They were Faraam, Sunny, Nephis, Cassie, Caster, Effie, Kai, and Seishan.
Beyond the walls of the castle, the absolute darkness of the night had devoured the world. Nightmare Creatures were prowling the cursed ruins, and somewhere far away, black waves were crashing against the indomitable granite surface of the city wall.
Inside, the cold light of a Memory lantern illuminated their faces.
Strangely, everyone was silent, as though not sure what to say. Finally, Sunny broke the silence by yawning loudly.
"Shall we get on with this? Tomorrow is going to be a long day, and some of us need their beauty sleep."
He threw a sideways glance at Kai, thought for a bit, and then added:
"Actually, every day after today is going to be a long one. So let's just do it."
Nephis stared at him for a few moments, then echoed his words:
"...Do it."
With that, they summoned their Memories.
Faraam summoned the Moonlight Shard, and the others summoned theirs too.
A ghostly stiletto appeared in Faraam's hands.
An austere tachi appeared in Sunny's hand.
A graceful war hammer with a narrow beak appeared in Seishan's hand.
Effie summoned her beautiful bronze spear and a heavy round shield.
Finally, a simple band of metal decorated with a single gem weaved itself from light and rested gently on Changing Star's head.
They were the Shard Memories.
Dawn, Zenith, Dusk, Midnight, Sunlight, Moonlight…
…And Starlight.
The last Memory was a short, flowing white cloak that draped itself around Effie's shoulders. This was the Shard she had received after slaying the Lord of the Dead.
For a few moments, no one moved. Then, Effie said:
"So, uh… what now?"
Nephis tilted her head a little, then frowned. Finally, after some time passed, she said:
"Come closer."
When they did, something unexpected happened. The Shards' memories emitted heat, and then seven beams of light shot toward the center of the room and collided. Then, they fused with each other, and soon, seven objects weaved themselves from that light and hovered in the air.
They were keys forged out of lustrous metal, with seven shining stars engraved on their surface.
It was the manifestation of the terrible oath that the seven heroes had given all those thousands of years ago. The keys that were used to seal the curse of the all-consuming darkness underground.
Suddenly, the seven keys turned into streams of light and shot toward each of the seven people gathered in the room, excluding Caster.
One beam hit Faraam in the chest and disappeared, absorbed into his core.
The voice of the Spell resounded in his ears:
[...You have received an Oath Key.]
Glancing at the rest of the people gathered in the room, Changing Star lingered for a moment and then said:
"We're ready."
Tomorrow is the promised day where they will finally be free from this hell... that is what was supposed to happen; that is what fate wrote, but a variable it couldn't control changed that long ago, and thus fate had no choice but to adapt to this variable.
***
Burned by fire, the Bright Castle was bright no more; it turned dark, ruined, and filled with ash. Eight hundred sleepers watched as the thing that sheltered them burned. Even though it sheltered them, they hate it the most.
Many dreams were extinguished inside this castle, a castle drenched in blood with their fellow brothers and sisters. The swinging skulls were evidence of that.
But the embers of their dream still were with those who walked forward to end it all, whether in failure or success.
These eight hundred humans were not a defenseless crowd. They were a battle-hardened army, one comprised of exceptionally powerful Sleepers… the most powerful Sleepers to ever be born from the human race, perhaps.
Slowly, the silent Sleepers turned away from that sight and looked far away into the distance.
They were looking west.
That was where they were going.
To lay siege to the Crimson Spire.
One after another, the Sleepers descended from the wall and left the Dark City behind.
The end of their journey was near, but what had fate written for them? No one knows... no one knows except a girl who tried to do everything to change the outcome she saw... Will she succeed? That is an answer only fate knows.