That same day - after the sparring against Nephis and Sunny - it was time to go kill the Lord of the Dead. The Fallen Tyrant was weakened thanks to Kido.
Through the streets of the Dark City, the entire cohort moved at the front - with the exception of Cassie -, Gemma was talking with Sunny a little behind, while at the back were Seishan, Sylvie, and Arthur. The trip did not take long and they arrived a little after midday.
The fight was not easy, but thanks to everyone's coordination and the fact that the creature was already weakened, in the end, it succumbed under so many simultaneous attacks.
Finally, it was Effie who delivered the final blow and thanks to that, the last Shard Memory was obtained.
Back at the castle, the day continued as if nothing had happened. Each member went to fulfill their tasks and the day passed calmly.
The next day, all the members of the cohort went out hunting on their own and at night Arthur found out that Nephis had already completed her second core and was now a Demon. Strangely, that day Sunny accompanied them as well, at Nephis' request. Now Arthur knew it was related to the pain one feels when forming a new core and how it leaves you defenseless while it happens, obviously it was to prevent Caster from taking the opportunity to try to kill her.
Arthur had just found out that Sunny supposedly was not part of her cohort and added it to his list of strange things about Sunny.
***
Two days later it was time for Sylvie, Kai, and Arthur to travel toward the Crimson Spire to analyze what creatures could be found, their ranks, etc.
Sylvie and Kai were flying calmly above the labyrinth, at a height not too high so as not to draw attention and not too low so as to be exposed to ambushes. Arthur was on Sylvie's back while she used her dragon form.
Three months after so much meditation and training, she could now maintain it for close to forty minutes or even an hour if she pushed herself.
The trip was not very long. They did not need to reach the base of the tower, only approach a distance considered safe and analyze from there. Thanks to Arthur's excellent vision they could obtain a lot of information.
During the trip they talked about many things.
Kai had several questions about the state of the Walking World. Those Arthur could answer without much problem. But when the archer started asking about music, trends, and fashion… Arthur could only shrug.
"Sorry, Kai, but I have no idea."
Kai sighed dramatically.
"What a tragedy."
Between laughs they also remembered the moment when the cohort, plus Sunny, found out that Sylvie could transform into a dragon.
It was impossible not to laugh.
Effie and Sunny had stood there with their eyes and mouths completely open, not knowing what to say. Kai had literally been on the verge of fainting. Caster had been just as surprised as them, he just hid it a little better. And even the stoic Nephis had shown a clear expression of surprise.
Sylvie almost lost stability in the air when Arthur remembered Sunny's face at that moment.
"I still remember," Kai said between laughs, "he had the same expression as when he had to spend his Shards on memories."
They finished telling stories just as the atmosphere began to change.
Even from that distance, the presence of the Crimson Spire was… oppressive.
A chill ran down Arthur's back.
As they got close enough to observe, they could see that around the tower there was an enormous number of creatures frozen in different positions, as if the air itself had petrified them.
Arthur focused aether into his eyes and sharpened his gaze.
Most were Awakened rank, but he also distinguished a couple of Fallen.
As for classes, Beast and Monster predominated. However, among the mass he could identify some Demons… and surely some Devil camouflaged among them.
Analyzing all that, he compressed his aether sense, extending it just enough not to give himself away.
That was when he felt something strange.
A tremor in the air.
To his left, Kai shuddered and shouted with a voice he had never used before.
"We have to leave now!"
Arthur came out of his concentration and looked toward where Kai was looking.
In the distance, a dark figure cut through the sky and was coming straight toward them.
It was still far… but its speed was alarming.
Sylvie reacted instantly and turned sharply, beginning the return. Kai flew beside her, trying to keep the pace.
Arthur shouted over the wind.
"Do you know that creature?!"
Kai barely turned his head and looked at him with a clear expression of fear.
"It's a Spire Messenger! Those are Fallen Monsters!"
Arthur swallowed and looked back.
The creature was shortening the distance at an absurd speed. Its wings cut through the air easily. In a matter of seconds it would reach them.
Mentally, Arthur communicated with Sylvie.
'Can you go faster?'
'No,' she replied, forcing her flight. 'I'm reaching my limit.'
Arthur shouted.
"Kai! Do you know its weak point?!"
The archer shook his head while flying.
"It doesn't have a weak point! And even if it did I don't know it! Sunny was the one who killed one when we ran into it!"
Arthur made an immediate decision.
"Kai, take Sylvie and go back to the castle."
Kai looked at him with lowered brows, incredulous.
"What?! It's a Fallen Monster! We have to escape!"
"Precisely because it's a Fallen Monster someone has to distract it. It's catching up to us. We have to do something now."
He spoke to Sylvie mentally.
'Turn off your attribute.'
She hesitated for a second.
'Be careful. We will come back right away to get you.'
Arthur smiled faintly.
"As if a simple Fallen Monster could do anything to me." He said out loud.
Kai looked at him clearly thinking
'Oh Gods!, another lunatic!'
At that moment Sylvie let the Spire Messenger get close enough for Arthur to have a better position in the air.
Then she deactivated her attribute and returned to her human form, Kai caught her midair and without losing a second both moved away toward the castle.
Arthur remained falling downward.
The wind roared in his ears.
Without hesitation, he summoned Umbral Husk, the dark armor immediately covered his body. Dawn's Ballad appeared in his right hand and Infinite Lash in his left.
He cast four augmentations over his body at the same time and raised his gaze.
The Spire Messenger was seconds away from reaching him.
When the creature's talons almost brushed his body, Arthur extended Infinite Lash.
The memory shot through the air at great speed and managed to wrap itself around the creature's torso.
***
About fifteen minutes later Kai and Sylvie arrived at the castle.
Kai did not waste time. He flew straight toward the throne hall. He pushed the balcony doors almost with a kick and entered shouting.
"Lady Nephis!"
Everyone present in the hall was startled at once. The seven Shards were on the central table, and the cohort along with Seishan had already obtained the Oath Keys.
Nephis reacted first.
When she saw Kai holding Sylvie in his arms, her expression changed immediately.
"What happened?"
Kai, still agitated, answered between heavy breaths.
"I don't know what's wrong with her, but Lady Sylvie is weak."
Effie moved before anyone else. With one hand she pushed the heavy table toward Kai.
"Here."
Kai placed Sylvie on the table carefully.
Nephis was already extending her hand to heal her when Sylvie spoke.
"No. I'm fine… I just ran out of mana."
Nephis frowned, but still tried to heal her. Her soul flame briefly enveloped Sylvie… and had no effect.
At that moment Kai turned around.
"I'm going to get Arthur." And without waiting for a response, he launched himself back through the balcony.
A heavy silence remained in the hall.
Sunny was the first to speak.
"Mana?"
Sylvie nodded slightly.
"Yes. I consume Mana to maintain my dragon form and my abilities."
Sunny opened his mouth to ask something else, but Seishan spoke first.
"What happened to Arthur?"
She took a small breath. Even though she said she was fine, a slight shiver ran through her body.
"We went to see what creatures were in the area of the Crimson Spire. At first everything was fine… but suddenly, Kai felt a presence approaching. Since Arthur was focused on looking at the creatures below, he did not detect it."
She stopped for a second.
"When he looked up…" She swallowed. "There was a Spire Messenger coming toward us."
The hall froze. Faces turned pale.
The most affected were clearly Seishan and Cassie. The latter brought her hand to the ring Arthur had given her, squeezing it without realizing it.
Sylvie continued.
"We flew back, but it was faster than us. So someone had to distract it… and Arthur stayed behind. He told Kai to bring me and to return immediately."
Caster spoke in a grave tone.
"If he faced a Spire Messenger… and in the air… we will have to accept that Arthur may not still be alive."
Effie crossed her arms, uncomfortable.
"I know he's strong, but facing a Fallen Monster in its terrain… is impossible."
Nephis said nothing. She only nodded slightly. Even Sunny, who normally would have made some sarcastic comment, was serious.
Seishan spoke then.
"If anyone can do it, it's precisely Arthur."
Everyone turned toward her.
Effie sighed.
"I don't want to offend you, but it's a Sleeper in the air against a Fallen Monster. I know there's something between you and him… but it's highly improbable."
Seishan opened her mouth to respond.
Then they heard Sylvie laugh softly.
Now everyone looked at her.
"He's crazy…" she murmured.
Nephis stepped forward. "Are you okay?"
Sylvie leaned on her elbows, sitting up a bit.
"Arthur is alive."
"How do you know?" Sunny reacted immediately.
Sylvie looked at all of them. "Between him and me we can see each other's runes. And I just saw him obtain a new memory."
Once again silence, they did not know whether to believe it or not. Kai was not there to confirm anything but… what need would Sylvie have to lie?
Effie looked alternately at Seishan and Cassie.
"You two got yourselves a good one, huh."
The comment barely broke the tension.
***
Meanwhile, Kai was flying over the labyrinth at full speed. His mind was in chaos.
At the point where they had been intercepted, he began to descend carefully. The smell of blood arrived before the image and when he saw it, he turned completely pale.
Arthur was sitting on top of the Spire Messenger's corpse, Dawn's Ballad was deeply embedded in the creature's torso, piercing through it.
The monster was enormous. Its elongated and twisted body seemed like an unnatural mix between a bird and a lion. Long and torn wings, covered in dark feathers that looked like solidified smoke. Its neck was too long, twisted at an impossible angle, and its head… its head was the worst part.
A stretched and gaunt humanoid face, with a grotesque smile frozen on its lips. Empty, sunken eyes, still open.
Its limbs were disproportionate, ending in claws long like blades and even so… it was dead.
Arthur had the armor damaged in several places. Deep cuts, but there was not a single drop of blood on his body.
Upon seeing him, Arthur looked up.
"Kai, you took your time coming back, huh." He said it in a joking tone.
Kai could not respond immediately. He just looked at the scene. The corpse. The sword.
Arthur sitting as if nothing.
Finally he landed.
"Are you… whole?"
Arthur stood up calmly, unsummoning Dawn's Ballad.
"More or less. Did Sylvie arrive safely?"
Kai nodded automatically and without saying much more, grabbed him by the arm.
"Let's go." Said Arthur.
Both took off again toward the castle.
Kai looked at him from the corner of his eye while they flew back to the castle. The wind hit their faces, but even so he could not take his eyes off Arthur, as if he feared he might disappear at any moment.
"How did you manage to kill it?"
Arthur took a few seconds to answer. Not because he did not want to, but because he was mentally reviewing every second of the fight.
"When I was falling," he began in a calm tone, "I waited until the last moment to launch Infinite Lash toward the creature's body. If I did it too soon, it would dodge. If I did it too late, it would pierce me with its claws."
Kai swallowed, listening carefully.
"The whip hooked onto its torso. As soon as I felt the tension, I commanded it to shorten."
He made a slight gesture with his hand, as if he could still feel the pull.
"That propelled me toward it. But in the process, the Spire Messenger's talons reached me. They cut my thigh. It was not superficial."
Kai opened his eyes a bit more.
"Are you injured?"
"Not anymore," Arthur replied without giving it importance. "But at that moment I had to endure the pain. If I let go of the grip, it would have torn me apart in the air." He continued. "Once on top of it, it was basically a sequence of stabbing it with Dawn's Ballad. Over and over. Wings, torso, whatever I could find. But its skin was more resistant than I expected."
He frowned slightly remembering it.
"Since it couldn't get me off, the creature changed strategy. It dove toward the ground with the clear intention of crushing me."
Kai almost lost his rhythm hearing that. "Are you saying you let yourself fall with it?"
"More or less. I didn't have many options."
Arthur continued speaking as if he were describing something routine.
"While we were descending, I had to fight two things. Not falling off because of the force of the wind… and not letting it tear me apart with its wings. Each flap was like receiving the strike of a whip."
He took a deep breath. "When I saw that the impact was inevitable, I summoned Veiled Edge. I ordered it to take the form of a spear."
Kai looked at him surprised.
"I positioned it pointing upward, right where I calculated its neck would impact against the ground. After that it was a matter of synchronization."
His eyes became a little more serious. "I had to make sure the spear stayed fixed… and that I was not underneath."
There was a brief silence before he continued.
"Fortunately, the memory held. When the Spire Messenger hit the ground, the spear pierced directly into its neck. The impact was brutal."
Kai could almost imagine the scene.
"The body became motionless instantly. And the spell spoke to me. I had killed it."
Arthur slightly turned his head. "I even received a memory from it. I think it allows me to move in the air… as if I were gliding."
Kai finally exhaled, as if he had been holding his breath the entire time.
"Well… I'm glad you're okay."
Arthur smiled faintly as the castle began to appear on the horizon.
"Me too."
***
Two more days have passed since Arthur's fight with the Spire Messenger and now he was sitting on the castle steps as he had done almost every night during the last three months.
Now it was the moment they had agreed on with Sunny to finish their deal and for Arthur to ask the three questions. Even though this is almost Arthur's favorite place, it was Sunny's idea to meet here and at this hour.
Minutes passed until Arthur felt a shadow approaching him and moments later he felt Sunny. He stood at his side and simply sat down looking toward the establishment outside.
"So it's time." Said Sunny.
Still looking forward he responded,
"Yes."
"Before you do it, I must warn you that there are things I cannot say." Sunny warned.
'Oh, I know.'
"Don't worry."
There was a brief silence between them. The gusts of wind moved both their hair softly.
Arthur went straight to it.
"First question. What are you going to do when we leave here?"
Sunny did not respond immediately. He stayed looking outside, as if trying to imagine something that did not yet exist.
"I don't know," he finally said. "I'll probably remain independent." He slightly turned his head. "I'm also going to make a report. To give it to Professor Julius. He'll surely be interested in what happened here."
Arthur nodded slightly.
Sunny narrowed his eyes. "And you? What are you going to do?"
Arthur rested his elbows on his knees. "First I want to see my family." His tone changed slightly when he said it.
"After that… I'll probably end up joining Seishan's clan."
Sunny looked at him sideways.
"Join a clan? Don't you want to be free?"
Arthur let out a slight exhale through his nose.
"Freedom doesn't exist, or at least not in the way you think."
Sunny frowned.
"The only freedom we have is choosing which chains to place on ourselves."
Arthur remained silent for a few seconds before asking:
"Do you know the story of the Ring of Gyges?"
"No."
"It was a shepherd who found a ring that made him invisible," Arthur began. "When he discovered its power, he used it to enter the palace, manipulate the queen, kill the king, and take the throne. The story raises something simple: if no one could see you, if there were no consequences… would you still act the same?"
Sunny kept listening carefully.
"In ancient times it was argued that most people act 'good' only because they fear punishment. Remove the external restrictions and true nature appears. So the question is… are we really free, or are we only chained by fear and norms?"
Arthur rested his arms on his knees.
"For me, freedom is not having no chains. It is choosing them. Choosing who to protect. Choosing what responsibilities to accept. Choosing what promises to fulfill. Choosing which norms to follow. I choose to bind myself to certain things. No one forces me."
Sunny remained silent for a few more seconds.
Then he slightly shook his head.
"No."
Arthur looked at him sideways.
Sunny intertwined his fingers, resting his elbows on his knees.
"What you're describing is still a cage. More elegant. More comfortable. But a cage nonetheless."
His voice was not defiant, but firm.
"You say you choose your chains. But once you choose… you can't let them go without ceasing to be who you are. That isn't freedom. It's conditioning."
"In the Outskirts nobody talks about principles. They talk about surviving. And when you have nothing, when no one expects anything from you… that's when you are free."
Arthur raised an eyebrow.
"Free from what?"
"From expectations. From duties. From the need to protect something that can be used against you."
Sunny looked at him again.
"You choose to tie yourself to people. To promises. That gives you direction, yes. But it also gives you weak points. It gives you limits."
He made a small pause.
"I don't want to choose a better cage."
The wind slightly moved his dark hair.
"I want a point where there is nothing that can force me, manipulate me, or condition me."
His eyes hardened slightly.
"That is freedom."
Arthur observed him in silence and tilted his head slightly.
"That would be a very lonely existence."
Sunny did not respond immediately.
Arthur continued. "What would you do if that freedom you seek is the one that causes you to end up alone?"
The silence extended for a few more seconds.
"I have always been alone," Sunny finally responded. "That is not something that will change."
Arthur raised an eyebrow, even though he knew Sunny could not see it.
"But you are not alone now." His tone was softer. "Are you willing to break the chains that also tie you to the members of the cohort?"
There was a longer pause this time.
The night wind seemed colder.
"If that is what allows me to live better… yes."
The answer was direct.
Arthur remained silent for a moment, then he said: "Then you're wrong."
Sunny let out a small exhale.
"I'm going to become free."
Arthur smiled faintly, looking toward the darkness.
"If you achieve it, I'll give you a memory."
There was a small silence.
"Deal."
There was a small silence before Arthur spoke again.
"Second question. Do you have family in the Walking World?"
Sunny looked forward again.
"Yes." Pause. "A sister, she doesn't know I exist. Our parents died when we were kids. After that… things were what they were."
Arthur nodded slowly. "I understand."
A few seconds passed.
Arthur took a deep breath.
"Third question. What do you think of Nephis?"
Sunny let out a small humorless laugh. "She's like an immovable object. Determined. Cold when she needs to be. Always moving forward." His fingers tightened slightly on the stone step. "But at the same time… she was my first friend."
Arthur did not interrupt.
"In the Outskirts there are no friends. There are only people who will hurt you… or rob you." His gaze became more serious. "I didn't know what it was like to have friends until I got here. Until I met Effie, Kai, Cassie… and Nephis."
Arthur lowered his gaze for a moment.
"I see." He stood up calmly.
"I think there's something more than just friendship between you and Nephis."
Sunny did not respond.
"I'm not the right person to give advice," Arthur continued as he began to walk, "but when we leave here… you should think about something more than just seeing her as a friend."
He took a couple of steps.
"You're something strange." Arthur stopped. "What do you gain by getting so involved with us?"
There was a small silence.
Arthur did not turn around. "I made a promise to someone dear." His voice was calm.
"I don't intend to fail."
And he continued walking, while the night wind played with his hair, leaving Sunny alone with his thoughts.