Two forces stood against each other, the desecrated expanse of the great hall separating them… for now. The tense silence was full of bloodlust and dark apprehension.
Sunny slowly made his way to the first row of the crowd, staring at the opposing mass of armored warriors with a complicated expression. From his point of view, followers of Changing Star had little chance of winning this battle.
They simply had no advantage against the Castle Guard — with the exception of the fact that there were more bodies they could throw at the sharp blades of the enemy. Even if everyone here was mundane human, that would not have helped them prevail against a better-armed and trained force.
The fact that every single human in the throne room was a Sleeper only made things worse. The potential difference in power between two Awakened was much more vast than that between two mundane fighters.
And yet, he didn't think that Nephis was going to lose — for that same reason.
The Guards might have been better equipped and more experienced than the slum dwellers, but they didn't have Changing Star on their side. They didn't have Effie, Caster, and Gemma. They didn't have Sunny.
They only had two truly fearsome champions: Seishan and Tessai himself.
At the end of the day, the outcome of this battle was going to be decided by those few who stood out from the sea of Sleepers, impressive as everyone still surviving in the Dark City might have been, like tall and unassailable cliffs. Among the Awakened, individual power was so much more important. And in terms of exceptional individuals, the Changing Star's side was far superior.
So yes, Sunny felt confident that Nephis was going to win.
But at what cost?
Out here on the Forgotten Shore, people had nowhere to retreat. So this battle was going to end only after one side was totally annihilated. And the closer to utter annihilation a faction would come, the more desperately its members would fight… like rats driven into a corner. When that happened, the bloodshed would only grow more terrible.
Was it only going to stop when just a handful of the strongest and most resilient was left alive?
As if reading his thoughts, Tessai suddenly chuckled and looked at the crowd of people gathered in the throne room with a bloodthirsty smile.
'Is… is that bastard actually looking forward to the slaughter?'
The morose giant then looked directly at Nephis and grinned:
"Changing Star. Ah, we meet again. But… wait. Who is that beside you? Is that Gemma, my old friend? What a pleasant surprise! How considerate of you, to bring him here. Now I won't have to search the whole Castle for that filthy cockroach…"
With that, he slowly rose from the throne, put his terrifying mace on his shoulder, and descended from the stairs, dark fires igniting in his eyes.
"Have you come here to die, Changing Star?"
Nephis tilted her head and looked at Tessai with empty eyes.
"...No. I came here to kill you."
The giant laughed. Stepping on the marble floor, he stopped beside Seishan and bared his teeth in a vicious grin.
The two of them looked truly fearsome together. The morose giant was like an incarnation of destruction and violence. His skin had turned slightly blue because of the invisible icy barrier that encased it. The air in the throne room suddenly became colder, with tiny snowflakes dancing in the beams of light.
The mysterious leader of the Handmaidens was reserved and elegant, but no less frightening.
Seishan was exquisitely beautiful, cold, and inexorable. She was wearing a simple, but strangely regal dress, its velvet the color of red wine. There was an intricate silver necklace resting on her chest that accentuated her supple figure, and two bracelets on her wrists.
Her most striking feature, however, was not her grace and not her beauty, but her skin. It was grey like stormy clouds, smooth like silk, and devoid of any imperfections.
Just like Nephis, Sieshan was one of those people whose appearance had been changed by their Aspect. But in her case, that change was far more pronounced. It gave her an exotic and tantalizing, but outwardly inhuman look.
Seishan's beauty was of the kind that put both longing and fear in a person's heart.
When Tessai approached, she silently summoned her weapon and stared coldly at the crowd of slum dwellers. Many of them shivered and hurriedly looked away.
A few moments later, a graceful war hammer appeared in her hand, one side of its head forged in the shape of a narrow beak.
The morose giant laughed.
"Kill me? Haven't you tried already? If memory serves, the last time we fought, you ran away like a cowardly dog. What makes you think that today is going to be different, bitch?"
Nephis raised her chin slightly and met his mocking gaze with silence.
Tessai shook his head.
"That look. I dreamed about wiping that arrogant look off your pretty face for a long time. Today, I am going to teach you how to beg, girl. So, what do you say? How about we finish this mess once and for all?"
The Guards standing behind him laughed and readied their weapons, looking at the slum dwellers opposing them with contempt and dark anticipation. Followers of Changing Star gritted their teeth, closing their ranks and preparing to charge.
The bloodshed was about to begin.
Nephis summoned her silver sword and answered Tessai, her voice cold and indifferent:
"...Let's."
For a moment, time slowed.
With a bestial smile, the giant stepped forward. He opened his mouth, ready to give his soldiers the command to attack.
A step behind, Seishan silently moved to follow him…
…And brought the beak of her war hammer on the back of Tessai's head, shattering his skull with one devastating strike.
At the same time, the Handmaidens who were standing behind the Guards attacked the unsuspecting men with long knives that appeared out of their sleeves. These knives were not Memories, and as such, did not take any time to weave themselves into reality or shine with ethereal light while doing so. Instead, they were fashioned out of steel, bone, and black obsidian.
Just a moment later, the blades plunged into the flesh of the Guards, ruthlessly slaughtering them. The Handmaidens were aiming for their throats, hearts, and eyes. Blood streamed on the marble floors once again, and screams of terrified agony filled the air.
By the time Tessai's soldiers realized what was happening, it was already too late. They had no chance to resist the treacherous attack.
A dozen seconds later, everything was over. A hundred powerful fighters were mercilessly eviscerated without even having a chance to raise their weapons. Their corpses lay on the floor, a look of horror and disbelief forever frozen on their faces.
…Only Tessai was still alive.
Despite the fact that his skull was broken, the giant was still struggling to stand up, fury contorting the lines of his face. His disoriented attempts, however, were growing weaker with each second.
A confused, pained roar escaped from his lips.
As hundreds of Sleepers stared in shock and horror, Nephis slowly walked across the great hall and stopped near him.
Seishan, who was standing behind the giant, gave her a respectful bow.
"Lady Changing Star."
Sunny stared at her war hammer, which was wet with blood and bone matter, with splinters of bone sticking to its metal surface. An expression of recognition suddenly appeared on his face.
"The hammer… the mason's hammer…"
Held in Seishan's graceful hand was the sixth Shard Memory. One that belonged to the walking colossus, the statue of the Builder who had created the walls of the Dark City.
The Sunlight Shard.
Nephis gave the beautiful woman a court nod.
"Good job."
Finally, the identity of the spy who had been helping her from within the Castle was revealed.
Then, she turned to the dying giant and stared at him. Neph's face was still and motionless, with no emotion appearing in her cold grey eyes. After a few moments, she said evenly:
"I promised to kill you."
With that, she raised her sword and pierced Tessai's heart with one swift, precise strike. The giant man shuddered, and then grew still.
Retrieving her sword, Nephis closed her eyes and used it to support her weight for a few moments. A slight tremor ran through her body.
The war for the throne was over.
The Bright Castle had finally found its new Lady.
In the aftermath of the Castle Guard's annihilation, the core members of the cohort gathered in a small room that was situated not far away from the great hall. From there, they could hear the bodies of the slain Guards being stripped of anything valuable and then dragged away to be disposed of... lest they attract the hordes of hungry Nightmare Creatures.
Just like that, the former most powerful faction of the Bright Castle was no more.
Judging by the expressions on everyone's faces, no one had been aware of the secret alliance between Nephis and the Handmaidens. Perhaps with the exception of Cassie.
But none of them dared to ask Changing Star about it.
Well, Sunny had no such problem.
Staring at their intrepid leader with a dubious expression, he said:
"So when did you start working with Seishan?"
Nephis glanced at him, then shrugged indifferently.
"Soon after you left."
A slight spark appeared in her eyes.
"Why? Are you surprised?"
Sunny remained silent for a bit, then shook his head.
"No, not really. I figured out that your spy was one of the lieutenants a long time ago. I just didn't know which one. But I thought that either your cooperation ended with Gunlaug's death, or that they double-crossed you as soon as you got rid of him for them."
Changing Star smiled darkly.
"...She wouldn't."
Sunny frowned slightly, then asked, his voice full of cold, calculating curiosity:
"So why didn't she join your faction when all of this had started? Why go to such lengths to create this charade?"
But then, he raised his hand to stop her from answering and grimaced.
"Actually, don't say anything. I can guess. If the Handmaidens joined us directly, the power of the faction would have been too immense. And that would pressure the other three lieutenants into joining forces against it instead of fighting among each other. Then, we would have really had to end things with an all-out battle, the last man standing wins. Right?"
Nephis glanced at him and nodded.
"Correct."
'Not only did the two of them prevent Tessai and Gemma from considering an alliance, but they also eviscerated the Castle Guard without losing a single follower. How… diabolical.'
Even a treacherous cheat like Sunny couldn't help but be impressed.
However, there was one problem. His frown returned, now even deeper than before.
"If memory serves, the last time we talked about your spy you said that she can never be trusted. You only trusted the information she provided. Why the change of heart? How come you were so confident that she would uphold her end of the deal?"
A pleasant, velvety voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Maybe I can explain myself."
'What the hell?!'
With a startled expression, Sunny turned around and saw the beautiful woman standing right in front of him. Up close, she was even more striking, with her strange grey skin seemingly shining softly in the sunlight.
'How did she get so close without alerting neither me nor my shadow?'
He didn't like the fact that Seishan had been able to sneak up on him one bit. Things like that were not supposed to happen...
The gorgeous woman, meanwhile, gave them a reserved bow and said:
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Song Sei Shan…"
Suddenly, Caster's eyes narrowed. A strange expression appeared on his face.
Sunny did not miss that sudden change.
'Well, the fact that our proud scion is reacting this way can mean only one thing. It's some Legacy crap.'
Sunny stared at Seishan, seeing her in a new light. He studied every detail of her appearance, from the modest cut of her velvet dress to the glinting silver of her intricate necklace.
She didn't look like a Legacy. At least not the ones he had seen.
However, one little detail of her appearance did give him pause...
Noticing his gaze, Seishan offered a polite smile.
"Ah. No, I am not a true descendant of the great clan Song. However, I have been raised and cared for by the Clan Leader herself, like many other girls orphaned by the Nightmare Spell. As such, it is my duty and ardent wish to return to the real world and repay my debt."
She lingered for a few seconds, then lowered her eyes.
"That is why, while you have no reason to trust in my character, you can at least trust in the fact that my wishes align with yours. I followed Gunlaug because only he was able to give people a chance to survive the Forgotten Shore. And I will follow Lady Changing Star, because only she can give us a chance to escape it. This is my belief, and this is what I will do. She is Broken Sword's daughter, after all."
Without having to discuss anything, everyone stared at Kai, who coughed and said in an embarrassed tone:
"Uh… yeah. All of this is true. She is very sincere."
Effie raised an eyebrow, then turned to Seishan and shrugged:
"Well… welcome to the team, then? I guess."
One after another, the other members of the cohort repeated her greeting. Sunny was the last to speak.
When it was his turn to greet the beautiful Handmaiden, however, he remained quiet. Soon, an awkward silence hung in the room.
Sunny glanced at the rest of the people gathered there.
Nephis, Cassie, Effie, Caster, Kai, Seishan… and him.
Seven people in total...
A few moments later, he turned to Seishan and stared at her for a bit, then finally said, his voice strangely suppressed:
"Welcome."
She looked at him with a reserved smile.
However, Sunny wasn't done talking. Quickly glancing somewhere left of Seishan's face, he hesitated for a little, and then added:
"Oh, right! I almost forgot. I found something of yours. I think you dropped it."
With that, he raised a hand. On his open palm, an intricate silver earring lay, one side of it covered with blood.
Seishan looked at it for a few moments. Then, her lips suddenly parted, her smile turning wide and brilliant.
Glancing at him with sparkling eyes, she said:
"Thank you very much... Sunny, right? I thought I lost it."
Her teeth were perfectly even, pearly, and spotlessly white.
In the next week or so, things moved with terrible speed.
Nephis became the ruler of the Bright Castle without any type of glorious ceremony or impassioned speech. No one questioned her authority, anyway, as though it was a simple fact of life.
In a sense, it was.
Sunny found it interesting, however, that she didn't take her seat on the white throne of the ancient citadel once. Even when there was a need for a large gathering, Changing Star sat on the last step of the stairs leading to the throne. As if making a point to show that the Bright Castle did not belong to her… or, perhaps, that she did not belong to the Bright Castle.
At first, he was sure that Nephis was going to push people to march on the Crimson Spire immediately, but she didn't even mention it. When he confronted her about her plans, she simply said that they were going to wait until the winter solstice came before making any decisions.
It was just a few days away, anyway. In the meantime, everyone who was left alive had a lot to do.
There were just five hundred people in the Dark City now. In less than a month, the human population of the Forgotten Shore had been reduced by half. The outer settlement remained completely abandoned, but even then, there were barely enough people to maintain and guard the Bright Castle.
Nevertheless, they persevered.
The halls and corridors of the ancient citadel were cleaned of blood and corpses. The Nightmare Creatures that had found their way inside were methodically hunted down and eliminated. The breaches in the defensive lines they had created were located and repaired.
Neph's watchmen assumed the role of the obliterated Castle Guard, manning the walls and protecting the stronghold from outside threats. The hunting parties resumed their expeditions into the ruins, with hunters from the outer settlement and the Castle joining forces under the leadership of Effie and Gemma. Once again, there was food for everyone to eat and safety to enjoy.
Despite the harrowing hollowness and the absence of so many young men and women who had died in the turmoil of the bloody struggle for the throne, not to mention the invisible scars left on the souls of those who had survived, things were slowly starting to resemble how they had been before.
But behind this veil of normalcy, they were anything but. And the reason for that was Changing Star and her Crown of Dawn.
With the help of the miraculous Shard Memory, humans of the Dark City were now able to not only hunt more Nightmare Creatures and with less risk, but also challenge Fallen rulers of the cursed ruins. Not every one of these terrifying creatures could be killed without paying too terrible a price, of course. But after so many years on the Forgotten Shore, experienced Hunters knew a lot about various horrors populating the city. Putting the knowledge together, they determined which ones they could challenge and survive.
One after another, many powerful Nightmare Creatures were tracked down and slain. Suddenly, humans have become if not the apex species in the Dark City, then at least not the weakest one.
By killing Fallen abominations, Nephis was achieving several goals simultaneously. She was steadily accumulating an arsenal of Memories to arm every person in the Castle. Some of those Memories were even of the Ascended Rank, and the number of such powerful armaments slowly grew.
She and her warriors also brought back large quantities of soul shards, which were then given to the inhabitants of the Castle to absorb and grow stronger.
In an ironic twist of fate, it appeared as though now, it was the Bright Lady who was paying tribute to her subjects, and not the other way around.
This only made the respect and adoration people felt toward her grow stronger.
But most importantly, perhaps, was the fact that through these hunts, she was training her people to fight together as a cohesive force and prevail against creatures that were much more powerful than them.
Guided by Cassie, the surviving Artisans were hard at work, too. They were applying their mastery and craft to close any gaps in how the humans of the Dark City were equipped and supplied for the battle against the Dream Realm. However, the nature of their tasks was drastically different now.
If they had been in charge of maintaining the lifestyle of people leaving in the Castle as much as working to supply Gunlaug's Host with gear and equipment, now their only job was to create things people were going to need in battle.
It was as though they were preparing for war.
There were a few large projects that the Artisans were working on that Sunny knew little about, too. These things were requested from them by Nephis herself. He suspected that they were going to become useful once the time to attack the Crimson Spire finally came.
...Just like that, the winter solstice came.
On this day, exactly a year ago, Sunny had arrived on the Forgotten Shore. It was hard to believe that he had survived here for so long. That any of them had. But it also seemed as though one year was not enough to encompass it all.
It felt more like a lifetime. Several lifetimes, perhaps…
It was also on this day, a year later, that Sunny turned eighteen.
Remembering his previous birthday, a slight smile appeared on his lips. Back then, Cassie, who had been a complete stranger, offered him unexpected congratulations. He also made plans to celebrate his next birthday as an Awakened by drinking a cup of coffee with lots of milk and sugar.
Those dreams were not meant to come true.
Instead, Sunny met his eighteenth birthday in an empty hall of the Tower of Dusk, practicing the steps of the Shadow Dance, sweat streaming down his lithe and strong body.
These days, he felt that he was almost there. Just a little bit more, and the first level of mastery over his mysterious Aspect Legacy would be his. It was already in reach.
One more thing happened on that day.
As Sunny continued to train, the subtly familiar voice of the Spell suddenly whispered into his ear:
[...Your Shadow has evolved.]