"I've got this," I said, my tone a bit too confident. I summoned the Unshadowed Crucifix, its holy light flaring to life.
I lunged, aiming to purify the wretched thing. But the monkey-devil moved with a sudden, shocking speed, dodging the Crucifix's glow. The worms on its back didn't just writhe; one of them detached, shooting through the air like a pale, fleshy arrow. I barely twisted aside, the worm slamming into the wall behind me with a wet thud where my head had just been.
My arrogance evaporated, replaced by a cold jolt of fear. Sasrir was already moving, shadows lashing out to bind the creature's limbs. But the worms were a separate entity, lashing out independently, forcing him to divide his attention. This wasn't a target practice dummy. This was a fight.
"Team up!" I barked, the command sharp, all pretence of easy superiority gone. I stopped trying for a grand, purifying blow and focused on distraction, using the Crucifix's light to herd the creature, to blind the writhing parasites. They sizzled and shrieked, writhing on the ground as they cooked. Sasrir, freed from defending against the projectile worms, intensified his assault. The main shadow-tendrils tightened, and a dozen smaller, sharper ones formed, stabbing into the monster's body like needles.
It was over in seconds after that. The creature collapsed, the light in its eyes dying, the parasites on its back going still. I stood there, panting, a thin, stinging scratch on my cheek from a near-miss. It was nothing, a tiny injury. But it was a warning.
We absorbed the larger, brighter Soul Shard it left behind. The power was a welcome surge, but it couldn't wash away the cold lesson. Just because I knew the future didn't mean I could control the present. Just because I held a transcendent Memory didn't make me invincible. This place, the Forgotten Shore, was filled with things that could kill me before I even realized I was dead.
I could feel Sasrir's eyes on me, a silent, judging pressure. He didn't say a word, just kept glancing over as we walked. After the third time, I couldn't take it anymore.
"Alright, alright," I huffed, my cheeks burning with a mix of embarrassment and residual adrenaline. "I got cocky. It was a stupid mistake. I let the foreknowledge go to my head." I kicked a loose piece of rubble, watching it skitter across the broken pavement. "It won't happen again."
He gave a single, slow nod, the shadow over his face seeming to lighten just a fraction. It was the closest I'd get to an "I told you so." Satisfied, he pointed with a gloved hand down a narrower, less-damaged path. "This way."
We took the new route, moving with a renewed, sharper caution. The easy confidence from the start of our trip was gone, replaced by the grim focus the Dark City demanded. For several minutes, we travelled unobstructed, the only sound the scuff of our boots and the distant, echoing wail of some unseen creature.
Then, we arrived at the edge of an open square. It was vast, bordered by the skeletal remains of towering buildings. Sasrir's arm shot out, stopping me in my tracks. His whole body went still, the way a predator does when it senses something unseen.
"Wait," he murmured, his voice barely a breath.
I froze instantly, my hand tightening around the Crucifix. "What is it?" I whispered, my eyes straining to pick out a threat in the expansive, empty plaza. I couldn't see anything. But I'd learned my lesson. If Sasrir said wait, you waited. "Is this where the Stone Saints are?"
"More or less...but I have a bad feeling. I think it's my Listener powers acting up again, give me a second to tune it."
He then closed his eyes, becoming as much a statue as the thing we were here to hunt. I said nothing, letting him work his magic. The abilities of a Listener were truly bizarre, and Sasrir had struggled to convey the feeling to me. According to him, it was like listening to music while passed out on a psychedelic trip-whatever the hell that means.
After around a minute, Sasrir moved again. "Alright, they're here. One block down, currently just having finished fighting something else: I heard their death gasps. There's just one problem."
"What?"
"Saint wasn't alone in the original work, remember? There were six of her guarding this place."
"Oh, shit" I cursed, the memory finally making itself apparent in my mind. Six Stone Saints? That posed a bigger threat than the Bone Tyrant, a bigger threat then the Spire Messenger, bigger than the Steel Golem. They were Awakened, but could contend with Fallen and were far more intelligent than their Class would indicate. Could we beat them? Not a chance in hell.
My Unshadowed Crucifix wouldn't be useful unless I use it's Sequence 4 heat to melt them. Sasrir's degeneration and coldness would be pretty ineffective against them, if at all. I could try and use Notary and Bard to boost his power as much as possible, and then have him smash them with a shadow hammer, but it would be pretty rough even then.
"Well, what do you want to do?" Sasrir looked at me, willing to follow my lead wherever. "Do we try it anyway, or leave and come back when we've recruited Effie or Gemma?"
I licked my lips and didn't answer straight away, pondering as I looked up at the grey sky. "Hmm, I think I have an idea."
****
I crouched low on the rooftop, the rough stone digging into my knees. Below, the six Stone Saints had moved back into the center of the square. One of them was still covered in partially dried, dark blood, a stark reminder of whatever they'd just butchered. The fact that the other five were mostly clean was a terrifying portrayal of their prowess. They hadn't even broken a sweat.
They looked just like the novel described. They were humanoid statues carved from dark grey stone, shaped like ancient knights. Four of them had a male build, broad and powerful, while two were more slender and female in form. They stood in a relaxed formation, five of them just staring off into space, completely still. The sixth, the one covered in blood, was standing off to the side, meticulously inspecting the edge of his stone sword.
My heart was thumping a steady, nervous rhythm against my ribs. This was insane. Sasrir had already gone on ahead, his form dissolving into a patch of living shadow that slid silently down the side of the building. His job was to find some particularly nasty monsters and lure them back here. The plan was simple, the same one that had worked in the story.
We'd let a third party do the heavy lifting. We'd let the monsters and the Saints tear each other apart. Then, when the fight was over, we'd swoop in and finish off the survivors. It was a classic ambush predator move. If one wave of monsters wasn't enough to soften them up, we'd just send in another. And if that didn't work, we'd try a third.