We slice the last nightmare creature down. I stare at the walls of the ruined city. I look down at my personal demon. Its been 3 months and we're back. We sit on this arch yet again. We had changed so much yet so little. I sigh looking back at my companions, these people will be the ones who kills Gunlaug and lead the raid on the crimson spire. I will make sure that they all survive.
I also had finally finished the saddle, any time someone gets too tired to walk they ride on it. I have countless drawings and descriptions of nightmare creatures within my notebook. I go back to sketching finally finishing the drawing of the statue and the sea creature. I desummon the notebook watching those walls that where my life for 4 whole years, almost 5 now.
I notice sunny who has one of those looks again. I get up and I pat him on the back, he jolts
"you have that look again"
"what look?"
I tilt my head
"okay maybe I am planning murder but its not of a human."
"This time"
he grins
"yeah this time"
I start thinking
"what are you planning to murder?"
He gives me a look, he hits me on the back of the head
"fuck! Did i forget somthing again....?"
"Yeah the black knight, the one who's death is payment for me coming along."
I do a few tiny steps away then I run to the other side of the arch very embarrassed. I keep forgetting things, important ones too. Later Neph brings over some food that I take and eat really fast.
Soon we are walking through the streets once again.
"Hey guys. I need to do something at the outersettlement, ill leave my echo with you. Don't die, good bye."
Before anyone could respond i run off. I hear sunny and I think caster yelling after me but I've got something, really important, to do at the outersettlement. Soon i make it there. This time without my helmet and this time, im looking, im actually looking at these people.
They look disheveled and tired yet at my appearance they seem.... hopeful. Is that what I inspire? Or is it just because of my connection to changing star? Does it matter? I dont think it does, ill make sure their hopes are fulfilled. Ill make sure as many as I can escape from this hell.
I walk over to my hovel, I try to smile at people but they recoil from it so I stop. I open the door with a bang. Healer jolts standing up summoning a spear then she lowers it looking at me with a grimace
"Holy ■■■■.... you look like shit"
I laugh desummoning my armor. I flop down on my bed
"im aware, hell im more aware then anyone else."
I lean back. I take out a ascended soul shard and I toss it to her.
"So you managed to kill another fallen nightmare creature. Thats not even that shocking anymore."
I get up and I take a floor board off. I take out the soul shards i left here and i shove them in my satchel
"I see your getting good mileage out of that thing"
I summon my notebook and I hand it to her. She flips through the pages until she gets to one
"thats.... thats incredible."
She then goes back to flipping stopping at another page
"this is a.... spire messenger. You fuckers killed a spire messenger!"
I nod with a stupid grin
"and we found the remains of the first lord"
she shakes her head and sighs.
"Thats a little too in line with you"
I lean back and relax until some guards burst in.
"Where is she!"
I smile at them, I see one take a step back
"who exactly are you talking about?"
"Effie of course!"
I tilt my head as I slowly get up
"im not the Effie keeper. Why would I know?"
I walk towards them.
"Its Gunlaug's orders....!"
I lean towards one
"she'll be here soon, so he will have to wait a day or two. No go"
they back up and leave. I lay back down on my bed.
"damn you got confrontational"
I sit at the edge of the outersettlement, I stare out at the ruined city. I flip the ice dagger in my hand waiting for them to get here. I feel the gazes of the outersettlement residents and the guards.
I notice a large shape stalking towards the outersettlement. A awakened demon. I get up slowly, it notices me and rushes foward. I side steps a fast swipe, i use one dagger to pin its hand down, i jump up landing on top of it. I stab into its skull, twist and drag the dagger up and out. It drops to the ground and i jump off. I gesture to it facing the crowd of outersettlement sleepers
"well? Take the damn thing apart already"
a bunch of the outersettlement residents drag it away with much trouble and I sit back down.
Later I see them, my cohort. I get up, under my helmet I grin. She's going to kill Gunlaug today.
I walk over to them i hear voices call out about Changing Star being back. I jump onto Divine flame. Some look at me on my ice shard but most look at Effie and Neph.
"I am not good with words so please accept my gratitude dreamers of the dark city, the past few months have been hard on me and the members of my cohort but they must have been equally as harsh on you however we have persevered you here in these cursed ruins and we out there in the ghastly depths of the labyrinth. But all of it wasnt in vain."
She tosses something out of the storage memory Effie had handed to her, it was the tailen of the spire messenger.
"Out there in the labyrinth we have fought and slew one of the cursed messengers of the crimson spire, I bring you its claws as a gift to become your weapons."
We had done something incredible, we did the same as the first lord had done. I look on at the stuned faces. If I can I'll make sure as many people as I can get out of this place.
"Many years ago we, those who where sent to the forgotten shore weren't yet imprisoned by fear. Enthralled by the sin those cowards who had forgotten that they are first and forever humans. Back then there where people among us willing to risk their lives to conquer this hell, escape it, the first lord and his companions where the greatest of them."
She summons the memory she had gotten from the first lords body.
"I have brought his legacy back to the dark city this is the crown of the first lord. We have retrieved it from a place of eternal darkness where he had fallen in battle. He died trying to find a way out of this cursed land for all of us to follow..... And with it we will finish we he had started."
Later we enter Neph's house. As she and the cohort talk with the followers about the situation, I take out my soul shards giving them to Divine flame one by one. I had about 40 of them so it takes a bit. Caster is given a box and leaves with it for some unknown purpose, he holds it away from his body like its poisonous.
Soon after im done the guards burst in, even the guard leader funnily enough. I've been preparing a little thing for the last few months, maybe that will change my reputation finally. I watch the guard leader, a big guy who seems real loud and proud. How utterly annoying. I pat my echo as the standoff starts. Kai steps foward but gets held back by Nephis. I pat my ice shard as Nephis declares that everyone is coming with. Knew it, honestly this isnt shocking.
I stop leaning on the wall walking forward. Effie gets grabbed and we start walking to the castle. On the way more and more outersettlement people follow us. I reach into my satchel and I start pulling out weapons and dropping them.
This was the project id spent those months working on. The bones, the claws, many many parts of nightmare creatures made into swords, daggers, spears, bows and arrows, so many things. Making countless weapons out of the bodies of the nightmare creatures I killed while on my solo hunts. I hear people picking them up grabbing the weapons they created.
Voices of those people rise into the air. All chanting "judgement" over and over. Not for Effie but for the bright lord Gunlaug. I walk next to sunny dropping weapons to this crowd. I notice sunny get a look and I pat him on the shoulder. He looks over, he has the look, like hes remembering hoards nightmare creatures.
Caster finally makes his reappearance after his task. We enter the castle, the outersettlement residents seem to go quiet, but their anger gets colder.
How many had that man killed as, what, a power play? Or for fun? Or for no real reason? The walls of this castle are empty all within the throne room. Even if Nephis fails, I will act, I will freeze him to death but she wont. Some residents of the castle look on with glee, some with apprehension.
But all look upon those of the outersettlement.
I stand next to Kai and Caster. I grip my daggers, my ice shard looks down on all of the humans of the forgotten shore. When she kills Gunlaug its likely a massive fight will start. Ill hold off the guard captain.
Thats when Gunlaug appears, a horrid pressure from that damn echo armor. I dont fall or buckle i simply stare, its incredibly hard to stay up but I do. Its simply a mental attack and a weak one at that.
Gunlaug sits on the throne, like a king, or a god, a false god. Like all gods before him, he will die. Ill insure it, Changing Star will insure it. I change my grip on my daggers getting ready. I look at the echos of the host, divine flame will hold those off, I'll hold off the guard captain. Im pretty sure sunny will kill Gunlaug's right hand man, hes always hated that man.
I stare at the host from under my helmet. It is what I want, I want Gunlaug dead, I want out of the forgotten shore, I want to get everyone out. Finally Gunlaug and Changing Star prepare to fight after having a conversation thats far too long. I grip my daggers i feel them almost crack, I lower myself getting ready to move.
A fight will break out, a civil war and it will be bloody so many will die. Im gritting my teeth, I didnt even realize I was until I feel my jaw hurt. Effie gets dragged away as the two get ready to fight.
Changing Star summon her long sword as well as her helmet and Gunlaug's armor shapes into a battle axe. The two rush towards eachother, both intending to kill eachother.
Its kill or be killed in their battle and Gunlaug has the advantage. His weapon is able to change shape. The two battle without any mercy. Just like what will happen when he dies, the host and the outersettlement will fight without any mercy. I give Divine flame a mental command, to be ready, this fight will not last long. Nephis gets a good hit right on Gunlaug's face causing a crack on it.
I grab Casters shoulder ready to jump foward to attack. He grabs Changing Star and stabs her countless times. She closes her eyes and hits with all she's got breaking the golden armor, showing Gunlaug's eye. Changing Star blows some red sand into his face... not sand its the blood flower, the parasite flower from the statue battle.
He reals back but far too late. Gunlaug is going to die and he cant stop it. Nephis stays down healing herself soon she gets up. I watch as Gunlaug realizes what's about to happen. I grip Caster tighter getting even lower. I feel Caster looking over then I feel him freeze. It doesnt matter I have my target.
I hear Gunlaug scream but it doesnt matter hes already dead. Soon he limps over to throne sitting down and dying. The guard captain yells, but before he can finish i spring foward pushing Caster back causing him to fall, Divine flame rushes to meet the hosts echos.
I get him in the neck almost cutting his head off, he barely moves out of the way. Im pretty sure our eyes meet because the look in his eyes change from hate to... fear? Then they go back to hate, maybe even more hate then before.
Let him hate me, I dont care. Finally the civil war has started. I duck to the side of an overhead swing. I fight not for anything but to kill. I hear ringing, of my blades on his armor, of others blades hitting eachother. Of the outersettlement residents and the host.
I get pushed back, but a ghostly blue glow covers my daggers, my aspect legacy that I had finally claimed while waiting for them, i had been quite sure Gunlaug had someone like Cassie so I hadn't claimed it so when the time came nobody knew about it. I rush foward yet again getting him right in the shoulder, he swings blindly, I jump back as he grabs his wound then he looks at me
"oh you little- so its ice thats your aspect."
Im quite aware hes trying to use his aspect on me as i feel even colder but, im always cold what does it matter
"just die already"
I rush forward into a stab right for the eye.
I sit eating some soup while crafting another weapon. The outersettlement group has too little weapons so I've taken it on myself to make more, although the civil war has just started. I've failed to kill that lieutenant and he was able to team up with another.
The leader of the hand maidens I think. The other group is of the artisans and the hunters. I think the two leaders are together. Im not sure though. I was right about one thing Sunny did kill Gunlaug's right hand man. Good for him, he really hated that guy.