Audun's POV)
After thinking a bit, disintegrating someone in a death match might've been a tad over the top.
Kneeling next to Harus's ashes, I kept my head down and stared at the floor.
Every sleeper in the hall was staring at me like I had just grown nine extra heads and had an affair with their grandmothers, so I could do little more than hide my embarrassed expression while waiting for Nephis to close out our performance.
"Uh, Nephis? You there?"
My partner in crime was dead silent, staring at me with an intensity that made me shift uncomfortably in my kneeling position.
"Hello?"
"..."
"You there?"
"..."
She was completely unresponsive.
I sent a tentative message through our link.
"...Nephis? If you wait any longer, you're gonna lose the untouchable image that we worked so hard to create..."
Nephis stayed silent for a beat longer, but thankfully, she finally responded.
"...Sorry, I just needed a moment to collect my thoughts."
"It's fine, but we need to wrap this up."
"Go grab Sunny and Cas, I'll close out."
I nodded mentally.
Without a sound, I weaved a veil of starlight and cast it over myself, disappearing before the hundreds of eyes in the hall.
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(Caster's POV)
'I'm so fucked.'
Blood ran down my hands as my fingers dug through the calloused flesh of my palm.
The pain didn't even register because my full, undivided attention was directed at the man kneeling in front of my target.
Shoulder-length wheat-blond hair framed an androgynous face that was, by all metrics, flawless.
They wore pristine silver plate armor accented with hints of gold, and to top it all off, a coronal platinum radiance shone from their back like some sort of divine halo.
The scene before me looked like a scene straight out of a fairy tale, an artisanal masterpiece that stole the eyes of whoever witnessed it.
If I weren't scared shitless, I too would've been able to appreciate the pure grandeur of this visage, but I unfortunately had far more pressing matters to address.
Namely, where the FUCK did Changing Star find this man???
As a scion of the Han Lee clan, I was forced to memorize the faces of every influential and potentially powerful awakened that humanity had to offer, and yet, the identity of Changing Star's knight was completely unknown to me.
But I knew one thing, the absolute power that he had displayed rendered every single plan and scheme that I had meaningless, lest I sought to join Harus in his currently dusty form.
My mind raced at a speed I had previously thought impossible as the so-called Star of Solitude vanished in a flash of platinum light.
I watched Changing Star as her gaze turned towards Gunlaug and his now four lieutenants.
"My knight had prevailed over the accused and dealt out his rightful punishment."
My target gestured towards the dusty remains of the butcher and gave the Bright Lord a polite smile.
"I hope that this result is acceptable."
Gunlaug kept his silence, his expression hidden behind the golden mirror covering his face.
Every sleeper in the hall stood frozen as Changing Star turned and gracefully walked out of the hall, the crowd parting for her departure.
As soon as the massive doors of the Keep slammed shut, murmurs broke out, many sleepers sending cautious looks at the Golden Serpent sitting atop his marble throne.
The Bright Lord, flanked by his lieutenants, was still for a few moments before a heavy, oppressive presence once more drowned the hall in fearful silence.
With a voice barely concealing the unbridled rage building in his chest, Gunlaug stood up and let out a low decree.
"You all... are dismissed."
He walked down the marble steps, followed by Gemma, then Kido, then Tessai, and finally Seishan.
The Bright Lord and his attendants disappeared in the same shadowy arch where they had first made their appearance, leaving the hundreds of sleepers in the hall beyond confused.
Slowly, one by one, people began to filter out of the hall, many leaving their bowls of stew cold and uneaten.
I sat in contemplative silence as the last of the sleepers left the hall.
Getting up with a sigh, still shaken by the events that had just transpired, I couldn't help but let out a weighty complaint.
"Father... Lord Anvil... Things just got a lot more complicated..."
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(Audun's POV)
At Nephis' request, I took Cassie and Sunny and helped them retreat to the outer settlement before sneaking back into the castle to grab our belongings from our room.
Not even a full week after arriving, we had already left the Bright Castle.
After grabbing our shards and whatever supplies we had left, I convened with the other three near an abandoned section of the outer settlement.
They were currently in the midst of a casual conversation, but when I approached, there was a clear shift in the atmosphere.
It wasn't necessarily heavy tension, but it certainly wasn't carefree.
Cassie was the first one to cut through the silence.
She turned to me with a knowing yet teasing smile.
"So... The Star of Solitude, huh?"
I shook my head in exasperation.
It was for dramatic flair.
Sunny let out a dry chuckle, though I could tell that the way he looked at me had changed.
Silence fell over the four of us.
With a sigh, I turned over to Nephis.
What's the plan?
Nephis gave me a slightly weird look before shrugging.
"Well, after our show, I doubt Gunlaug will take immediate action. Especially since you've eliminated his strongest tool."
She continued.
"We still don't know the location of the Gateway, but there's plenty of information in the Outer settlement that we still haven't touched on..."
Nephis paused for a moment and turned her gaze to the ruins in the distance.
"Let's leave that for tomorrow."
She turned her gaze back to us.
"First, we should find shelter since we're no longer welcome in the Bright Castle."
The three of us nodded without complaint.
---------------------
(The Next Day.)
We had found a worn yet surprisingly spacious house at the very edge of the slums of the outer settlement, and ended up staying the night there.
After a not-so-comfortable sleep, we got together in what looked like a living room and handed out roles to make the most of our daylight hours.
Cassie stayed with Sunny in our Spartan shelter while Nephis and I set off to socialize with the others in the outer settlement and gather supplies in the ruins, respectively.
Since I had given Sunny the ring, I felt free to mess around as much as I wanted in the Dark City with Inky.
Summoning my ebony friend, the two of us darted through the ruins with reckless abandon, picking a fight with everything we found.
Inky was surprisingly smart, and with our ability to communicate wordlessly, we were able to coordinate surprisingly well.
Inky's multiple appendages and shocking mobility allowed me to execute a far greater range of movements and traps, making us a nearly unstoppable pair of hunters.
There was nothing in the ruins that posed much of a threat, maybe a few awakened terrors here and there or possibly a curious spire messenger, but we made quick work of them.
It was also during this time that I decided to play around with some of the memories that I had bought off of Stev, namely the pouch memory that had been fittingly dubbed [The Bag of Holding] by the spell (A/N: Lazy name, but I wasn't really in the creative mood).
It was quickly showcasing its utility as I indiscriminately tossed a large store of meats, shards, and pelts.
By noon, it was filled to the brim, and since I had yet to be called back, I took it upon myself to explore the Dark City at my leisure.
I went through numerous broken-down buildings, silently taking note of paths and entrances, using the Star of Memory to draw a detailed map of the layout of the ruins.
My gait was pretty slow, so it took a few hours to cover a fraction of the City's size, but I wasn't in much of a rush.
I chatted absentmindedly to Inky, who, despite understanding, was incapable of responding, and revelled in the relaxation brought by my dormant flaw.
Eventually, while I was exploring a three-story building near the outer edge of the ruins, a voice echoed casually in my mind.
"Audun, Nephis is asking when you're coming back."
A sigh built in my chest.
"Is it important?"
"Dunno, but Nephis looks a little tense."
"Hah~ I'll be back in half an hour."
"Got it."
Playing it safe, I decided to hustle back with mild exasperation, jogging through the streets unbothered by the nightmare creatures cowering before the awakened titan acting as my bodyguard.
Inky certainly was a pretty effective deterrent.
It didn't take me very long to get back, maybe a couple of minutes faster than the half an hour ETA I had originally given Sunny.
The sun was starting to set as I opened the door, and the small lanterns strewn around the house, courtesy of yours truly, lit up the otherwise unfurnished house warmly.
Following the sounds of conversation, I walked into what I assumed to be a kitchen and was greeted by the sight of a rather tense-looking Nephis and a confused-looking Sunny.
Not too far behind them, sitting at a beat-up wooden table, Cassie sat with a worried expression.
Upon my arrival, Nephis immediately turned her gaze towards me.
She let out a brief sigh before leaning on the table that Cassie was sitting at.
"Good, you're back."
I tilted my head with a quizzical look.
What's going on?
I shot Sunny a look, but he shrugged cluelessly.
Nephis shook her head lightly.
"I've got good and bad news."
We fell silent as we listened carefully.
"I've located the Gateway."
Our eyes widened as she dropped a metaphorical bombshell on us.
Sunny gave Nephis a cautious look.
"Assuming that's the good news, what's the bad news?"
Nephis looked at the three of us quietly before stating matter-of-factly:
"It's in the Crimson Spire."
Sunny and Cassie's expressions contorted into complex masks of stunned realization.
Nephis mercelessly delivered another nugget of despair.
"And it's protected by a Fallen Terror."
Sunny fell into mortifed silence while what I assumed to be grim realization dawned on Cassie's face.
An awkward curiosity spread across my features as I tilted my head quizzically.
That seems pretty doable though?
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(A/N: Guys, some squirell o7'd on my powerline yesterday and took my electricity along with it, so this chapter was cooking on the backburner while that was getting sorted.
My wifi adaptor arrived though, so my upload speed should return to normal as long as nothing else too crazy happens.
Also, I've finalized my plans up till the tomb of arial so far, but honestly, since I'm not fully caught up to the most recent chapter of SS things are subject to change.
Anyway,
That's it from me today.
Thanks for the support and leave a comment and review if you haven't already!
See you guys in the next chapter!)