Past the hound nest, the air changed — colder now, touched by salt. The terrain dropped away into what looked like a basin, filled with black, mirror-still water that was trapped and unable to recede with the rest of its' mass. Coral ribs jutted from the surface like the spines of some ancient leviathan.
Sasrir crouched, frowning. "Tidal Pool zone. Be careful — rays like to nest here."
The warning came too late.
The first Maw Ray struck from above, descending in eerie silence. Its wings cut through the mist, and then the scream came — a sonic blast that hit like a hammer, shattering coral and splitting the surface of the water below.
The sound alone staggered me. My ears rang, the world tilting, vision fracturing into jagged pieces.
"Down!" Sasrir shouted, and was quick to tackle me with him.
Effie hurled her spear. It pierced one wing, pinning it briefly to a coral spine. The creature screamed again, then burst free, showering blood that sizzled as it touched the ground.
I steadied my breath, focused the flame of the Crucifix, and slashed upward in a clean arc. A streak of white light caught the ray square through its center. The shriek turned into a wet hiss, and the creature folded inward before hitting the water with a dull splash.
The ripples spread outward… and something else stirred below.
"Don't move," Sasrir warned, but it was too late — the pool began to churn.
From the depths rose a new shape — a Tide Brute, an Awakened Tyrant. Its body was humanoid, but translucent, like a statue made of liquid glass. Coral fragments and bones jutted out irregularly, forming patches of armour. Its' face was just a curved mess of coral and stone fragments.
"Oh, hell," Kai muttered. "One of those."
"Back!" Sasrir barked. "Traget where the coral does't cover."
Effie darted aside as the Brute lunged. Its arm elongated mid-swing, stretching like molten wax. I ducked under the blow, swung low — but my blade passed harmlessly through its liquid body.
Then I remembered that these things were immune to physical, just like the Oil Wraiths Somewhere inside its chest, faint and flickering, was a small knot of light — like the oil wraith's core, but brighter, and with five nodes.
"Distract it!" I shouted.
Effie stepped forwardto meet another swing head-on as Kai sent an explosive arrow into the joint of its' other arm. The explosion scattered coral fragments, but the watery body underneath merely rippled before reforming. Sasrir vanished, and in his place a blurry shadow started to merge with the Tyrant's.
While all this was going on, I quickly Notarized myself and then pressed my palm deeper into the Crucifix, causing blood to well up before dying the object in rivets. Sasrir flinched andI knew a mirror wound had appeared on his own palm.
"Holy Pillar!"
The golden light descended from Heaven and hit the monster where its' core should be. The coral protection managed to absorb some of the damage, but in the end the monster's chest was exposed. With aferocious grunt, Effie closed the distance and once again thrust her spear, tearing throughthe viscous body of the Corrupted and striking the core.
It shattered.
The Tidal Tyrant collapsed with a sigh, falling into a shower of black droplets that hissed away into the ground and shards of coral or oily stone
For a long moment, no one spoke. Only the faint echo of the ray's corpse drifting downstream broke the silence.
Then Effie laughed, a short, breathless sound. "Bloody hell, did we just kill a Tyrant? "
Kai wiped his brow. "Only because its' minions don't seem to be here, but are out hunting instead. Let's not wait around for them to come back."
Sasrir dismissed his blade. "Agreed."
"Yeah, I've had enough for one day too," I muttered.
--------------------------------------------
The air grew warmer as we closed the distance to Bright Castle, the mist thinning until the sun finally pushed through in pale amber streaks. After the fight with the Tidal Tyrant, none of us said much. We walked with the steady, quiet rhythm that months of routine had carved into our bones.
Effie wiped the last of the black droplets from her spear, glanced at us, and sighed. "Alright. This is where I split."
We'd reached the familiar coral column shaped like a leaning spine — our unofficial marker. One more turn beyond it, and the patrol routes of the official Castle watch would overlap with ours. Effie couldn't be seen with us there. Not openly. Not with Gunlaug's rules.
She ruffled my hair as she passed me. "You boys stay alive. Preferably in one piece."
I made a face. "We're the ones who carried you through that crab nest last week."
"Lies and slander," she said over her shoulder. Then, lowering her voice, "Tell Seishan thanks for the rope trick. I owe her."
"She knows," I said. "And she'll pretend she doesn't."
Effie gave a small grin, then slipped between the coral pillars with practiced ease. Within seconds, her silhouette dissolved into the mist — another ghost among the ruins.
Sasrir watched her go, arms folded. "I still don't get how she handles playing the secret agent every day."
"She'd die of boredom otherwise," Kai said.
I shook my head. "Whatever keeps Gunlaug and his lackeys out of the loop."
We moved on, sticking to the less-patrolled pathways where the coral dust had been swept in unnatural patterns — a sure sign that Gemma and Seishan had already cleared the way. Both of them pretended ignorance around the others, but they knew exactly where Effie went, who she met, and what she fought with. They helped cover her tracks and was pretty much the only reasomn Harus hadn't come visit us during the night.
And maybe because they liked us, too.
The shadows deepened as we approached the Castle, the City blocking some of the sun. Voices drifted faintly down the path — Guards muttering during shift change, the clatter of weapon racks being moved, the everyday bustle of people trying not to remember they were trapped here.
We slowed our pace.
By the time the outer gate loomed above us, all signs of the labyrinth were wiped clean from our appearance — weapons sheathed, armor wiped, sap scraped off, expressions neutral.
Two Guards nodded at us as we passed.
"Patrol?"
"Routine," I said.
They didn't ask more. Sasrir gave them a lazy wave; Kai flashed a practiced grin that made the younger female Guard blush.
Inside, the courtyard was alive with movement. Artisans carried stacks of salvaged coral plates. Handmaidens tended the injured, their shadows dancing across the hall's pale walls. Scavengers hurried past with sacks of scrap, calling friendly greetings as we stepped through.
A few of them clapped me on the shoulder.
"Good hunt, Adam?"
"Back in one piece, ah? Must've been easy then!"
"You lads drinkin' tonight?"
It was normal. Warm. Familiar.
And even though we'd just fought things that could peel a soul out of flesh, the world here felt steady.
Gemma was waiting near the stairway, leaning on a crate like he'd been there the whole morning.is sharp green eyes flicked to Sasrir, then to me.
"No trouble following your trail," he murmured. "Effie's already in."
"Thanks," I said quietly. "As always."
He snorted. "You all look like death. Go wash." That was a bold lie, but I merely smiled and nodded.
Seishan emerged from around the corner, carrying a stack of scrolls. She gave the faintest smile. "Welcome back."
Sasrir raised a hand. "Did Effie—?"
"She's safe," Seishan confirmed. "And no one saw anything."
I exhaled. I had trust in the Huntress of course, but confirmation never hurt.
We didn't linger, and the three of us climbed the stairs toward our quarters. The hallway was warm, lit by soft lanterns that flickered gold.
A normal return. A careful one. Quiet.
As it always had to be, until Gunlaug was gone.
Inside our room, the door shut behind us with a comforting thud. Sasrir collapsed on his bed, Kai stretched his arms until his joints cracked like firewood, and I finally let myself breathe.
"Same time tomorrow?" Kai asked.
"Yeah," I said. "Of course."
Because routine kept us sane.
And because the Forgotten Shore wasn't done trying to break us yet.
Not even close.
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