From the moment Effie had learned about Nephis's Flaw, her perception changed. Lot of things she had wondered about previously made sense now; how guarded Nephis was, how in control. Effie started to notice how she seemed to drift off after a particularly intense battle — and there were few of those in the days after Effie's awakening. Effie found it hard to believe how someone could live like that, enduring constant agony. It also made her feel a new-found respect towards their leader. She had even guarded the whole cohort when they had slept — well, she and that shadow of Sunny's. They made quite a striking pair, obsidian and ivory.
If Nephis noticed some change in Effie's behaviour, she didn't say anything.
For Effie, Nephis's Flaw also revealed a deeper part of her character. After all, Flaws were tailor-made to the individual and knowing what would hurt someone the most was a big step towards understanding them on a deeper level. For Effie, her biggest dream had always been that of a healthy body, whole and full of energy. Becoming a sleeper had made that dream a reality, but her Flaw had shown her the flipside of such enormous vitality.
As for Nephis... she was someone that Effie considered incredibly driven. Effie was not sure what exactly was the goal she was working towards, but no one could become a supreme without burning conviction to drive them forward. And what would be crueler for that kind of person than to make them pay in blood for every step they took on a path of greatness?
Effie scoffed and took another bite of juicy monster-meat, cut from one of those flying bastards. She was becoming quite a philosopher lately! It must have something to do with the fact that they had been stranded on top a statue for gods knew how many days now with nothing interesting to do. She almost missed the Dark City with its numerous exciting sights and places... not quite, though.
In any case, the scenery was about to change very soon.
During the last few days the fights they had to endure had grown more and more dangerous, but today everything was quiet. The reason was easy to see: they were nearing the mountains. And not just any mountains... Effie did not know much about the Dream Realm, but if Nephis's comments were anything to go by, she would rather be going anywhere else but in this particular corner of it.
The Hollow mountains were dark and imposing, bereft of any forms of life save for weak patches of grass. Grey fog obscured most of the peaks making it seem like they were nearing the edge of the world. The air was unmoving and colorless. It smelled of nothing and there were no sounds.
Effie didn't like it at all.
"I guess it is too late to say it... but this looks awful."
Nephis was sitting on the eastern side of the campfire with serene expression on her face. She raised an eyebrow at Effie.
"It is awful. In fact, none of us will survive if we go into that fog. I know only one person who has crossed these mountains... or maybe two. And they were far stronger than we are now."
"So what are we going to do?"
"Isn't it obvious? The place we're looking for is not inside the fog. We should not be too far from it when we go down."
During the next hour or so the stone colossus eventually came to a brief stop on the base hills of the mountain range before continuing its endless march. That was when the cohort made their way down. Sunny and Cassie had acquired neat wing-memories, even if Doofus didn't look quite as home with the angelic style style as Cassie did. Effie was surprised Kai hadn't insisted on carrying Cassie anyways, but this time it was Changing Star who got to enjoy the services of the Nightingale Airlines. Effie herself climbed the whole way down, eager for some exercise after sitting for so long.
They quickly started hiking upwards, looking for some kind of valley or a canyon. Effie wasn't too keen on visiting another death-trap but Nephis had assured them it would be alright. And not long after the grass had turned into stone and the hills into steep cliff-faces did they indeed find the correct place. It was a massive circular pit that appeared to be man-made despite its immense size. At the center of the pit there lay a massive nightmare creature.
"It's dead", Nephis said and Effie nodded.
"You know, sometimes it is good to have an oracle around", she said before throwing an apologetic look at Cassie. "I mean, two oracles."
Had she offended Cassie by implying she wasn't the most well-versed seer in their group?
As if sensing her concern Cassie smiled. "I'm not offended. It's true I haven't been of much use lately."
That's good. I mean, bad? Well, whatever...
They descended into the pit, following one of the ancient roads people of Dark City had built in even darker times. Eventually they reached the floor and then, after some trepidation, made their way to the carcass. Only Nephis walked some steps to another direction, coming to stand still before a large pile of rocks. Effie wondered couple of moments before the realization dawned in.
It's a grave...
A somber mood overtook them as they came one after another to examine the resting place of one of the First Lord's cohort members. Effie saw Nephis whispering something, mouthing the same words that had been carved into the stone years ago. Your nightmare is over.
It was a strangely comforting sentence, something that Effie could very well relate to.
But they could not stand there forever. At some point Nephis pointed out the fog that was descending from higher up the mountains. Remembering her words Effie decided she wanted to be nowhere near it when it reacher their level and so they started looking for a supposed entrance underground. Sunny was the one to notice it and he guided the others to safety inside an old mineshaft. From there would begin their journey to the edge of the Underworld.
The air inside the mineshaft was stale and musty. It quickly became completely dark, but thankfully Nephis had aqcuired a luminous memory. Effie was secretly relieved she didn't have to endure her Flaw for such a mundane reason.
She was almost startled when the first carvings appeared on the walls. They were simple pictures, so simple in fact that even she could recognize the events the marks told of. Nephis had explained them much about the history of the Forgotten Shore during their talks around the campfire, but this was the first time Effie got to see actual evidence of the distant past. She saw how the nephilim — if it really was one — plummeted down from the sky and how the curse of darkness came upon the land. She also saw how the ancient people, most notably the senven heroes depicted on the statues, managed to vanquish the darkness via an artificial sun.
Of course the carvings didn't say anything about how that accomplishment had come to be... but Effie knew all about it thanks to Nephis. She shuddered at the thought.
From the tunnel they came to a big cave with another dead monster on the floor and yet another ominous chasm they would have to go into. That was where they made their first camp, deciding not to continue further down just yet. According to Nephis there was still a way to go and since they had a battle waiting at the end of it, it was best to be fresh before venturing there.
Effie didn't like sleeping in a cave — not that she liked sleeping near the Dark Sea, either — but with her Flaw she was quickly dozing off.
After what seemed to be just a few minutes, Kai shook her awake.
"It's time to go."
And so they went. The ancient mine was long and seemingly endless and Effie tried to shake off the thought of countless tons of stone weighing down on them — more and more with every step they took. She didn't like the feeling of being constricted and felt itchy. It made things worse that no one spoke anything...
"It's the first river."
Nephis's voice was collected if a little bit hoarse after hours of complete silence. It seemed to come closer than it really did thanks to the strange echo the tunnel had. Effie could feel a light breeze on her cheek and hear the sound of rushing water. In some time she emerged into a large cave.
She took the sight in — oil-black water, strange boat attached to the strand...
It wasn't scary at all, was it?
Without further ado the cohort boarded the boat. First went Nephis and Cassie, then Sunny, Effie and Kai. After that came the part Effie dreaded the most.
"We have to seal our eyes", Nephis sighed. "I don't like it, either, but it's the only way. Sunny has to guide us through the maze."
"In that case I doubt we'll ever be through it... " Effie lampooned.
Sunny shot her a withering glare.
"She's lying", Kai consoled. "In any case, I trust Sunny."
"Thank you so much... "
"Let's not waste time bickering", Nephis said. "Time to close our eyes."
And they did. Effie decided not to grumble any more as it would only irritate others and not help the situation at all. Despite what some people thought she could actually be serious (at times.) Those times included walking through the labyrinth of deathly danger without being able to see where one was going. And so, with all their eyes sealed with beewax and Sunny at the vanguard they proceeded into the maze. Effie was again the last.
Ahead her was Kai, then Cassie, then Nephis and finally Sunny, their reluctant leader.
Effie quickly lost both her sense of direction and her sense of time. She had no idea where they were going and that made her anxious. The tunnel seemed endless, their journey full of mindless twists and turns and stops that went on for far too long.
It was like walking in a dream where you never got closer to your destination no matter how many steps you took. Effie's other senses seemed terribly sharp and yet they didn't yield any useful information. Even the echo of their steps seemed wrong and confusing. Sounds were muffled and seemed to come from strange directions — she even thought she heard a pair of footsteps trailing behind her, like someone was walking behind her back in the darkness. It was enough to make her crazy.
Suddenly Cassie's voice pierced the silence. It was coming from Effie's right... which was not good at all.
"We need to go left."
"What?"
Sunny sounded far too anxious for someone they had to trust with their lives. Cassie on the other hand answered far too calmly.
"The left tunnel. We need to go there. It is our only way out."
There was a long and painful silence. Eventually Sunny's voice sounded.
"If you say so... "
They turned left. Effie was somehow sure that it was the wrong direction and she could not shake away a sense of dread that was gnawing on her insides. But she could do nothing else than hold on to Kai's hand and hope for her life that her instinct was wrong. Every second stretched her nerves thinner and thinner, to the point she felt like they would snap at any moment...
And the, inexplicably, she felt the air changing. It was suddenly colder and more alive. There was again the sound of rushing water and then Cassie spoke again.
"You should be able to open your eyes now."
"Finally!" Effie immediately raised her hands to wipe the wax away. Then she took a long and savoring look at the surroundings.
When had seeing been this nice before? She looked apologetically to Cassie who seemed as serene as ever. How did she live with it?
They had already crossed the second river via an elegant stone bridge. Not far ahead Effie spotted the thing they were looking for and felt a sense of pity bloom in her heart.
There were the skeletal remains of the first Bright Lord, the man whose footsteps they were currently following. He had been able to escape the labyrinth, but had been alone and without hope. Effie didn't know what had eventually killed him, but she wouldn't have been surprised if the man had decided to end it all himself.
"It feels weird seeing it", Kai said in a low voice. "Thinking about how strong he must have been, and yet he still failed to find a way out."
Nephis nodded.
"If I have learnt anything during my life as an awakened, it is that strength is never enough. Even when I and Sunny were sovereigns we were desperate for more power... "
"As they say, there's always a bigger fish", Effie said.
"In any case, we have to thank this man for a lot. I do think we would have escaped even without his work, eventually, but it would have been a lot harder. And maybe not all of us would have made it."
"But right now we're extremely not-escaped. Remember we have still a fight to fight today", Effie said, deciding to concentrate on the future instead of the past. Nephis nodded. She walked slowly to the corpse and with reverent hands took the ornate silver crown off its skull. As she did so, the crown dissolved into white sparks and materialized again on her brow.
Effie could have sworn the grim cave was suddenly a bit less dark. Looking at Nephis she somehow felt more hope than at any time since coming to the Forgotten Shore. The feeling was strange and she might have just imagined it...
Whether that was the case or not, something else did change as well: their memories.
"They are so much more potent now", Kai marvelled. Effie felt it too — the spear she wielded seemed suddenly more lethal than before and her armor felt sturdier yet somehow lighter at the same time. She could already sense how much of a boon this would be in a battle — and that was a good thing since they had one just around the corner.
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AN: There's not much happening in this chapter and that's because it was supposed to be much shorter - but it somehow ended up being quite long, resulting in splitting the chapter in two. That also means that I'm currently already writing the next chapter.