Three months later, Sunny was back at the castle.
Well, to be precise, he had returned here once before, to buy a few items that were hard to come by in the ruins. However, back then, Nephis and her cohort had been away on a hunt.
No such luck today. The moment he had been dreading for so long was finally here.
Hearing Changing Stat's voice, Sunny slowly turned around, glanced at her, and forced out a smile:
"Hey, Neph. Long time no see."
He tried to sound casual, but a slight tremble betrayed the storm of emotions raging in his heart.
Why did she have to be here?!
The turmoil of their sudden meeting was exasperated by the fact of how different they looked. The past months only made Nephis appear more radiant and splendid. Her white armor was pristine and graceful, her silver hair clean and combed. Sunny, on the other hand, looked like a pile of dirt that had somehow come to life. Both he and the Puppeteer's Shroud had seen better days.
He didn't want to see her, but even more than that, he didn't want her to see him in this sorry state. What if Neph gets the ridiculous idea that he was somehow miserable after falling out with her?
Nonsense! He was doing better than ever. He lived in a palace, ate delicious food every day, and had even become incredibly wealthy. If anyone should be miserable, it would be her…
"You do realize that you said that out loud, do you?"
Sunny blinked, remembered where he was, and stared at Changing Star in shock:
"Huh… what?"
She smiled with a corner of her mouth.
"You just zoned out and mumbled "why did she have to be here" under your breath. That was not very polite."
Sunny hid his embarrassment behind a grin and said.
"Yeah, well… I meant it."
Neph sighed.
"I'm glad to see you too, Sunny. It's good that you're alive."
Trying to conceal his discomfort, he shrugged.
"What, you didn't expect me to survive without you?"
She looked at him for a while and slightly shook her head.
"No. On the contrary, I knew that you would be fine."
Then, she paused for a moment and added in a flat tone:
"After all, a cockroach like you is not easy to kill."
Sunny scoffed.
"Now who's being impolite?"
Nephis stared at him in confusion for a couple of moments, then chuckled.
"Oh, sorry. I meant it as a compliment…"
***
He was glad to see Neph, too. As much as Sunny wanted to deny it, he had desperately missed her calm presence. Somewhere along the way, without even noticing, he had grown reliant on having her by his side.
But meeting her was also a nightmare.
After all, nothing had really changed after their bitter quarrel. Even though the intensity of it all diminished, the future that Cassie had foretold was still inevitable.
Now that the initial shock of running into Changing Star disappeared, Sunny took a closer look at her.
Nephis looked… stronger. He didn't know how much soul essence she had been able to absorb while he was gone, but it seemed like it was a lot. Neph was always confident and arresting, but now, her presence grew to a completely new level.
But then again, he was not the same weak fool either. The Dark City had made him into a fearsome creature as well. The months he had spent hunting monsters in the absolute darkness of the cursed ruins turned him stronger, smarter, and much more deadly.
…If a little bit insane.
Sunny doubted that any human on the Forgotten Shore had killed as many powerful Nightmare Creatures as he had in the same amount of time. At least not in single combat.
'Don't go on a tangent and forget where you are again!'
With a flinch, Sunny realized that he had been silent for a long time. An awkward silence hung between them, threatening to make him look bad.
'Uh. I need to say something. Like… how have you been? No, that's a stupid question! How about…'
However, before he could speak, Nephis asked:
"So what brings you to the Bright Castle? Are you… are you back?"
Startled, he scratched the back of his head and scrambled to find an answer:
"Oh, you know. Just… doing some shopping."
She blinked.
"Shopping?"
"Wait, did that sound weird?"
Sunny's eyes widened.
"Wait, did I say that out loud again?!"
He slapped his mouth shut and looked at Changing Star in horror.
'Goddamit! Who knew that a habit of talking to myself would be so detrimental to keeping my dignity intact?!'
On the ground next to him, the shadow was having a swell time basking in his anguish. It was shaking its head and dying laughing.
Several seconds later, Sunny was finally able to speak again:
"Uh, yeah. Shopping. I have some soul shards to spare, so I wanted to buy a Memory. Or few."
Nephis looked at him for a while, then said:
"I see."
Then, she turned away and asked, her voice calm and even, as always:
"Do you want to go somewhere and talk?"
Sunny's heart skipped a bit. He gritted his teeth.
"Sorry. No can do. I'm… uh… waiting for someone."
Changing Star lingered for a few moments, then asked:
"You're hiding in that alley because you're… waiting for someone? Who are you waiting for, Sunny?"
He waved a hand.
"Oh, you know. A friend. Well… more like an associate, really. An acquaintance?"
Neph remained silent for a few moments, then said in an even tone:
"You can just say no. No need to invent some…"
But right at that moment, an enchanting voice came from the entrance of the alley:
"Sunny? Hey, are you here?"
Turning around, Sunny saw a beautiful young man with gorgeous auburn hair and mesmerizing green eyes enter the alley. He was wearing an armor made out of burnished brown leather and blue silk clothes beneath, all of which fit him perfectly. On his face, there was a bright smile.
It was Kai… Night… whatever his name was!
Sunny exhaled with relief.
"What do you mean, "invent"?! See, he's right…"
However, the words died on his lips. Because, when he turned to Changing Star, he saw something that he had never seen before.
Looking at the young man whom he had set free from the bottomless dark well, Nephis took a step back. Her face was pale, and her eyes were wide and glassy.
She seemed to be consumed by absolute, utter horror…
Chapter 170: Star-Crossed
Sunny had never seen Nephis show fear before, not to mention being truly horrified.
Instantly, every muscle in his body tensed, and a cold shiver ran through it.
'It can't be, it can't be!'
She was a person who faced demons and fearsome abominations without even flinching. What could scare her so much?
Was he mistaken? Was Kai an incarnation of some primordial evil after all? How could this be?!
Panicking, he turned back to face the charming young man and outstretched one arm, ready to summon the Midnight Shard. Not that it would help if even Changing Star was scared…
…But, to his surprise, Kai wasn't showing any signs of being an ancient terror. In fact, he was looking at him with a cute expression of confusion.
"Uh, Sunny? Who is your friend?"
No, it didn't make any sense. Not only was Sunny sure of his judgment, he had also seen multiple people greeting Night as though they knew and liked him. He couldn't be a Nightmare Creature.
Then what was wrong with Nephis?
Keeping his shadow's gaze on the charming archer, Sunny slowly turned back and glanced at Changing Star. She was still standing there, seemingly paralyzed by fear.
What was going on?
"Uh… Neph?"
She flinched and tore her eyes away from Kai. After a few seconds, Changing Star cautiously leaned forward and whispered:
"Sunny… what is Night doing here?"
He frowned.
"He's the friend I was telling you about."
She lingered, then shook her head:
"No, I mean what is he doing here?"
The emphasis was on the word "here".
'Where else would he be?'
Completely lost, Sunny struggled to understand what was going on. Maybe she knew something about the kidnapping? That didn't make sense. Finally, he said:
"I saved his life in the ruins, so he's doing me a favor in return."
Nephis stared at him with desperation, then shook her head again:
"No, I mean what is Night doing here, on the Forgotten Shore!"
Sunny scowled.
"Did you guys know each other in the real world?"
Nephis looked at him with a funny expression. She opened her mouth, then closed it again.
Finally, she forced herself to speak:
"You… you don't know who he is?"
Meanwhile, Kai, who was politely staying silent through this whole weird conversation, smiled dazzlingly and said:
"He really doesn't. Isn't it wonderful?"
Sunny gave him a dark look.
"How would I know who he is? Make sense, please."
Neph was silent for a while, then loudly whispered:
"That's Night, you idiot! Night from Nightingale! The Night!"
What was she going on about?! He had no idea what that meant!
Sunny rubbed his face with irritation:
"What are you talking about? What is a Nightingale?"
Nephis looked at Kai, paled even more, and finally said in a small voice:
"It's… only the best and most famous idol group of the last decade. Triple Orpheus winners, one hundred consecutive weeks at the top of all charts, six diamond albums. That… that Nightingale. That Night. The lead vocalist…"
Sunny simply stared.
'Wait. Are you telling me…'
Was she so out of it because Kai used to be a member of some stupid boy band in the past?
Changing Star was not horrified, she was… starstruck?
He remained silent for a while.
And then exploded into laughter.
'Gods… oh gods! Nephis is a fangirl! What the Spell, that's too funny…"
Come to think of it, when they first met, she had been wearing headphones the whole time. He should have realized that Neph was into music much earlier. Mighty and stoic Changing Star, brought down by a dainty idol boy…
That was just too hilarious!
He wasn't even jealous. What were the chances of meeting her bias in the damn Dark City? You couldn't come up with that crap!
As he was dying from laughter, both Changing Star and Kai glared at him with difficult expressions. However, Sunny just couldn't stop. His laughter only died down after he began wheezing.
"Sorry, sorry. I just… didn't expect it. From you. Ha! Oh, gods. As for your question, Night has been here for about two and a half years. He lives in the castle…"
Nephis seemed thoughtful for a few moments, then glanced at Kai with wide eyes.
"Two and a half years? But… but I thought that Nightingale was just on hiatus because of Gale's solo project…"
'Oh, there's a Gale, too. I can't even...'
Kai smiled apologetically.
"I'm afraid not. I have indeed spent all this time here, in the Dark City. My agency had to come up with some cover story, I guess. With how things are, they can't even spin things and release a posthumous album, poor guys. You know, since I'm not technically dead, or even Hollow. Just… asleep."
Neph gave him a shy nod.
"Oh. I see."
Trying to remove the awkward atmosphere, Kai offered her another smile.
"By the way, it's so nice to meet another friend of Sunny's. What a surprise! I thought that he was a complete… uh… a solitary person. I'm sorry, but I didn't catch your name. Was it Neph?"
Looking at him, Sunny grinned. Then, he cleared his throat and said in a relaxed tone:
"Oh right, I forgot to introduce you. Sorry, by bad. Night, this is Nephis. Although these days she goes by another name. You might have heard it… meet Changing Star of the Immortal Flame clan."
…Now, it was Kai's turn to stare at Neph with horror. The corner of his eye twitched.
However, perhaps due to his idol training, he managed to hide his emotions much faster. Blinking a few times, he lingered for a moment, and then said in his smooth, enchanting voice:
"Oh. It's… a pleasure to meet you, my lady. I have... have heard so much about you. It's an honor!"
Nephis turned away, trying to hide a hint of blush on her cheeks. Staring at the wall of the alley, she hesitated, then awkwardly said:
"So… uh... your friend is already here, Sunny. Can we go have a talk now?"
She glanced at him and added after a bit of hesitation:
"I have something important to discuss with you. It's… a matter of life and death."
Chapter 171: Tether
Sunny blinked a couple of times, digesting her words.
A matter of life and death… if Nephis used these words, the situation was indeed dire. She was not someone to throw words to the wind.
However, she was also not to be trusted. No matter how much Sunny wanted for things between them to go to the way they had been before, he knew that it was impossible. There was no way back for either of them.
Sunny knew the true face of Changing Star now. He had seen the endless force of her conviction. In the flaming white inferno of her soul, all things were reduced to ash. Human concepts like loyalty, mercy, and affection had no hope of escaping that annihilation.
No matter what bonds connected them, Sunny could not trust Nephis to put them above her boundless obsession. If push came to shove, she would sacrifice anything… or anyone… to achieve her goal. Including him.
At least that was what he believed.
What's more, despite the fact that she tried to hide it, Sunny could feel that Neph's demeanor toward him had changed as well. He couldn't tell how exactly, but there was something almost imperceptibly different about how she looked at him.
Once broken, trust was not easy to put back. Perhaps it was simply impossible.
And yet… despite all that, was he really capable of refusing her plea for help?
Sunny sighed and closed his eyes for a moment.
…No. No, he didn't think he was.
Even if things between them became strained, she was still one of the only two people he cared about in this world. The way he felt toward Neph was... was almost like a second Flaw.
No matter how much he wanted to, he just couldn't get rid of it.
Somewhere along the way, it had taken root in his soul. He had hoped that it will wither and die if they were apart, but instead, it just grew stronger. And now there was no escape from it.
Sunny could feel himself being pulled back into the mess of humanity once again. Damn it! This was exactly why he had been reluctant to return here. After suffering so much to leave it all behind, why would he ever want to abandon his peaceful, pleasant, delightful life of solitude?
'Curses!'
But he just couldn't refuse Neph.
…However, that didn't mean that he was going to become her compliant sidekick again.
Even if they were going to work together, they were going to do it on his terms.
'Focus! You came here to purchase Memories to feed for the Stone Saint!'
Changing Star was looking at him expectantly. Sunny tried to appear confident and casual as he said:
"We can have a talk, but not right now. I'll... come find you when I'm done with my business."
Whatever it was that she wanted to discuss, it could not be extremely urgent. After all, Nephis had no idea that he was going to return from the ruins today. If there was no time to waste, she would not be wasting it on him, logically.
Changing Star was silent for a few moments, her face indifferent. Then, finally, she answered in a flat tone:
"That is fine. You know where to go."
Sunny smiled.
"Oh, and if you don't mind, I'll bring Night with me."
Both of them stared at him with the same doubtful expression.
"You will?"
Turning to the charming young man, Sunny pretended to be surprised by his question.
"Don't you want to meet my other friends? They'll be able to answer all your stupid questions, for sure!"
Night hesitated.
"...I guess?"
"Wonderful!"
Sunny gave him a nod and glanced at Nephis, who was clearly wondering if her idol could really be trusted.
"It's decided then. Now, if you'll excuse us…"
Truth be told, he didn't trust the pretty archer that much either. But his ability to detect lies would come in incredibly handy during the conversation with Changing Star.
She was the one and only graduate of Sunny's school of deception and lies, after all.
Pushing Kai away, he waited until they were at an appropriate distance and asked:
"So what did you find out about the Memories?"
***
Soon enough, they were entering the Bright Castle. Sunny felt strange returning to this splendid, suffocating place. This time, he came as a guest of a well-regarded resident, not as a slum dweller seeking to exchange a soul shard for a moment of respite from the cold, darkness, and terror. The Guards did glance at him with disdain, but remained passive.
Walking under the swinging skulls, they entered the familiar hall of beautiful colored glass windows. The opulent desk that Harper used to sit behind was still there, only now, a similarly downtrodden young woman was scribbling on a piece of parchment instead.
The world didn't care about the death of one little human. It just moved on, instantly replacing that which was lost.
Forgetting it.
Sunny grimaced.
"So, you did find me some Memories to buy? What are the prices?"
Kai smiled, gestured him to follow, and said:
"I did you one better. I actually managed to get us an invitation to the Memory Market."
Sunny frowned:
"A what? Never heard of it."
The charming young man gave him a nod.
"That's not surprising. It's a place where you can peruse various Memories and purchase them for an acceptable price. Uh… I say acceptable, but you know who has all the shards in this place. So, usually, they only let the members of the Host in."
Made sense. Gunlaug would never allow Memories to freely circulate among people who did not belong to him. The Guards and Hunters, though, needed a place to exchange Memories that didn't fit their Aspects for either shards or something that did.
"Then how did you get the invitation?"
Kai shrugged.
"It's not that hard if you have the shards. Problem is, very few of us free folk do."
To Sunny's surprise, they actually entered one of the forbidden areas of the castle. After walking down a few long corridors and going down several flights of stairs, a sturdy wooden door appeared before them.
There was a symbol of a sword and shield drawn on it.
Winking at him, Night opened the door and walked inside.
Sunny followed.
Once he saw the interior of the room, his eyes glistened with excitement.
Chapter 172: Memory Market
Behind the door, there was a medium-sized hall that had no windows. It was illuminated by a strange lantern that levitated in its center, radiating a bright and stable glow.
Along the walls of the room stood various weapon racks, wooden mannequins dressed in full suits of armor, and tables with a wide assortment of beautiful and intriguing objects placed upon them.
All of it — the weapons, the armors, the objects, even the levitating lantern — were Memories.
Sunny felt a thundering thought explode in his mind. For a few moments, he was only able to think about one thing:
'Money! That is so much money!'
Inside this unassuming hall hid a fortune that could rival that of an entire corporation.
He was barely stopping himself from drooling.
"Uh… Sunny?"
Brought back from his covetous stupor, Sunny blinked a couple of times and glanced at Kai.
"Huh?"
The beautiful archer hesitated for a moment, then said:
"I was saying, this is Stev. He is in charge of this place."
Only now did Sunny notice that there was someone else in the room. It was a man that was old by the standards of the Dark City, nearing twenty-five or so. He had a round face and cheerful eyes, which were currently full of doubt and hints of disgust.
His gaze, of course, was aimed at Sunny.
'Have you looked in the mirror, bastard?!'
Apart from his extremely tall stature, there was one other special thing about Stev's appearance, and it was that he was… fat. He was the first obese person that Sunny had met in the Dark City. Having a belly like that in a place like this must have required a lot of work, talent and dedication.
He didn't know whether to be impressed or appalled.
In any case, Sunny decided to not get on Stev's bad side.
...He wouldn't want to get eaten by this ogre, after all!
"Uh… nice to meet you, Stev. I'm Sunny."
The ample giant looked down at him, then glanced at Kai, and said in a strange voice:
"Night, my dear friend. Are you sure this dirty vagrant is… a customer?"
Sunny frowned.
'Be civil… be civil…'
"Hey, fat bastard. Are you sure that this dirty vagrant won't break every bone in that fat blob you have for a body?"
In the dead silence, both Kai and Stev stared at him with wide eyes.
Then, Stev leaned back and let out a thunderous laugh.
"This little gremlin is a funny one, Night! Well, good. Very good! If there's one thing I lack in this cave, it's entertainment."
Chuckling, he shook his head and said:
"Still, my goods aren't cheap, my dear friend… uh… Sunny? A good Memory will cost you a dozen shards, at least. Much more if you want something really useful. Are you sure you have the means to shop here in my emporium? How many shards can a slum rat like you have?"
Sunny blinked.
"I think there was a misunderstanding. Have you seen me? Do I look like someone who would ever be able to buy something from you? Of course not! I've never even absorbed a single soul shard, that should tell you how many of them I have."
Kai gave him a strange look.
Because of how confident Sunny had been while traversing the ruins, he must have assumed that his companion was sufficiently powerful. However, now he suddenly learned that Sunny had never absorbed any soul essence. With his ability to sense lies, the charming archer would know that it was the truth.
Well, of course it was. He absorbed plenty of shadow fragments, instead.
Sunny gave away that misleading secret on purpose. He didn't want Night to start questioning the amount of soul shards he was about to spend. Letting the archer think that he was too obsessed with wealth to expend any on increasing his power would, hopefully, lessen the impact a bit.
Meanwhile, Sunny shook his head.
"No, no. Kai here is the one who'll be handing you the shards. I'm just here to point him at the right ones. I have an eye for good Memories, you see."
By which he meant that his eyes were literally capable of peering into the very essence of Memories and discerning their true traits. But neither of them needed to know that.
Stev scratched the back of his head.
"Uh… well. In that case, take a look around. Ask me any questions if something catches your eye."
Then he glanced at Night and scoffed.
"You could have just asked me for advice, you know? It's not like I can lie to you."
Kai smiled with embarrassment.
"Oh. Ah… yeah, sorry."
When Stev walked away, he leaned to Sunny and whispered:
"So the favor you wanted from me is to pretend to buy a Memory and then give it to you, so that no one knew that you have a hidden ace?"
Sunny stared at him. Actually, it was a good theory. Having a weapon or tool that no one knew about was a very good advantage.
Unfortunately, Kai didn't really know who he was dealing with.
Sunny shook his head.
"No. I don't want you to buy a Memory on my behalf."
Then, with an earnest smile, he added:
"I want you to buy around ten."
Kai's beautiful green eyes widened.
***
Leaving the charming archer struck dumb and speechless, Sunny walked away and started perusing the various Memories on display.
There were a lot of them. By his estimations, at least a hundred, if not more.
All sorts of weapons immediately attracted his attention.
There were straight swords, curved swords, estocs and rapiers, scimitars and sabres. Various daggers and knives called to him, shining in the bright light on the enchanted lanterns. There were a dozen or so of polearms, from spears to glaives to halberds to naginatas. Several battle axes were displayed nearby. Further away, war hammers, maces, and flails radiated a silent feeling of crushing force. A few bows received a dreamy look from Kai.
There were suits of armor, too. From leather to metal, light to heavy, scale to plate. Elegant, unrefined, graceful, barbarous… whatever a person could wish for. Some of them were shaped like actual armour, others looked like cloth garments.
Placed on tables, various objects begged for his attention. Gods only knew what enchantments they possessed…
Well, to be precise, gods and Stev.
And Sunny.
Walking among the Memories, he would periodically place his hand on them. Immediately, the inner weave of the Memory would be laid bare to his eyes, which were changed forever by the drop of Weaver's ichor.
Studying the logic of the weave, he was able to glimpse its purpose. Of course, there weren't any truly remarkable Memories in the hall. Who would want to sell something like that? However, even then, he managed to separate really good ones from simply acceptable, from borderline awful.
…That last category was what he came here for.
'Quantity over quality, remember?'
Sunny was almost done choosing the absolute worst Memories out of them all when his sight suddenly fell on a badly illuminated corner.
In that corner, covered in a thick layer of dust, stood a seemingly discarded suit of armor.
…When Sunny saw it, his hands slightly trembled.
Chapter 173: Black Armor
For a moment, Sunny froze. However, a second later he continued to behave just like before, as if nothing had happened.
The first rule of haggling — never let the enemy see that you're interested in buying something. And Sunny was dead set on haggling until Stev's ears started to bleed today.
Pretending as though he had not noticed the dusty armor, he walked around a bit more, slowly approaching the corner where it was displayed. Judging by the neglect with which the armor was kept, the master of the Memory Market did not know its true value.
Sunny really wanted to keep it that way. Because, if he was right… that armor was much more valuable than anything else here.
He didn't know for sure, but suspected that it was nothing short of a true treasure.
Because he recognized it.
The suit of ancient plate armor was jet black in color, its design intricate and solemn. It radiated a feeling of dark resolve and stalwart, adamantine grace. All parts of it were perfectly fitted to one another, creating an almost seamless barrier of impenetrable steel.
…Or rather, stone.
Because the dusty armor was almost exactly the same as the one the Stone Saint was wearing.
Of course, there were some differences. For starters, this one was somehow more… impressive. It felt as though it had once belonged to a creature of higher status than the steadfast Shadow. While Shadow's armor was made out of dark granite, this one was cut out of pure black onyx. Its glossy surface seemed to absorb and devour any light that fell on it.
And that was just in its dormant state. Once it was animated like that of the Stone Saint… who knew how fearsome it would become?
Why was this treasure gathering dust in a badly lit corner of the Memory Market?
Sunny frowned. Yes, he was most likely the only person in the Dark City who had seen the formidable living statues up close. But still, everything about the onyx armor screamed of how incredible of a Memory it was. What was it doing here, neglected and seemingly forgotten?
He had a lot of questions.
Finally, he managed to reach the armor without showing how interested in it he was. With a false expression of boredom on his face, Sunny raised a hand and absentmindedly put it on the jet black breastplate.
A moment later, his mask of boredom almost cracked. His pupils widened.
What he saw beneath the surface of the armor shocked him to the core. The weave of ethereal diamond strings inside it was… was on a completely another level from anything he had ever seen.
It was much more complex and vast than even that of the Puppeteer's Shroud. Which was not surprising, considering that there were no less than six glowing embers connecting it all together.
And those embers were much larger and brighter than those inside his current Memories.
Sunny gulped.
In front of him, covered in dust, was an Ascended Memory of the sixth tier. Something that only a Fallen Terror could leave behind.
'Jackpot.'
***
His glee, however, did not last long. Almost instantly, Sunny noticed that there was something wrong with the weave of the onyx armor. It was… damaged.
Thousands of strings were torn apart, leaving the whole pattern broken and full of disharmony. Instead of flowing seamlessly, they floated in the darkness, untethered from each other and the nexuses. The whole thing was a mess.
That's why he couldn't feel any logic or purpose in the weave. It was simply not there anymore.
Sunny frowned.
How could a Memory stay damaged beyond repair? That didn't make any sense. Memories were supposed to repair themselves inside the Soul Sea as long as they were not completely destroyed. This rule was pretty much universal. It couldn't be broken.
Unless…
A seed of understanding appeared in his mind.
However, before Sunny could elaborate on his idea, Stev chuckled and put a giant hand on his shoulder.
"What an awesome armor, right, my dear friend Sunny?"
Saying that, he leaned forward and laughed.
Throughout Sunny's exploration of the Memory Market, Stev had approached him several times to describe the most alluring qualities of his wares or simply to chat. He was obviously bored out of his mind in this windowless hall.
Sunny stared at him and blinked a couple of times.
'If you only knew what kind of a priceless treasure this is, fool!'
"Of all the pieces of crap in this market of yours, this one is by far the most outrageous. I can hardly believe that you had the audacity to show it to people."
By which he meant that it was genuinely the best Memory in this whole room, if not in the whole castle — except for Gunlaug's golden armor, of course.
However, if it sounded as though he was blaming Stev for being shameless and trying to sell people an utter piece of crap… well, he couldn't do anything about that, right?
Stev sighed.
"Usually, I would get into an argument and try to defend my inventory, but I can't really disagree this time. This armor, no matter how awesome it looks, is indeed absolutely useless. It has been here from long before I was put in charge of the market, actually. I even consider it to be a sort of mascot."
Sunny scratched the back of his head.
"How come no one ever bought it?"
He was pretty sure that he knew, but needed to hear what was Stev's explanation to glean how much the giant man understood.
Stev shrugged.
"Why would anyone buy it? Have you not noticed that it's made of stone? Like, actual stone? It's so heavy that not even Tessai can move under all the weight. Maybe an Awakened would be able to, but to us Sleepers, wearing this armor is pretty much like trying to walk around dressed in a mountain. And that stone is not that hard to break, too."
He looked at the onyx armor and sighed.
"Actually, this armor has quite a story. It once belonged to a member of the legendary cohort that conquered this Castle. Some even say that it belonged to the first Lord himself. Supposedly, it had an enchantment that made it much lighter back then."
He looked at the armor with doubt.
"But when they were fighting some ancient terror, maybe the Spire Messenger who lived here, the armor was seriously damaged. Something went very wrong, the enchantment was broken, and it turned into a piece of stone. It's so damaged that even the Spell can't make sense of it, simply describing it as unknown that, unknown this... "
Sunny had to force himself to not hold his breath.
The Stone Saint was, supposedly, created by one of the Unknown. It made sense that the armaments of her kind were, too.
Regardless, it didn't matter that much. He was now pretty sure that he knew why the onyx armor was remaining in its dormant form and couldn't repair itself.
It had to do with the difference between the Sleepers and the Awakened.
Once a Sleeper finished his trial by walking through a Gateway, they would take the final step to becoming a true Awakened. Their way of entering the Dream Realm would change, their Aspect would unlock a second Ability, and their core would evolve to the next rank.
There was a quantitative jump in power, but most of the difference came from the qualitative one...
Chapter 174: Shopping Spree
Just like Dreamers gained the ability to perceive and interact with Soul Cores, Awakened were able to interact with Soul Essence. By channeling it inside their bodies, they were able to utilize it more efficiently and achieve greater results.
The ability to channel soul essence was also vital to unlocking the full potential of higher rank Memories. Besides the general rarity of such Memories, there was another reason why Legacy clans did not just equip their scions with weapons of tremendous power and let them sail to the Gateway without meeting any resistance.
It was because Sleepers simply had no way to activate powerful enchantments. Even Gunlaug was mostly using his Transcendent armor just for its durability, with a single passive enchantment serving as a nice, but unimportant bonus. In the hand of an Awakened with the ability to channel soul essence into it, the golden armor would have been far more formidable.
Which is where the paradox that rendered the onyx armor unusable came into play.
From his experience dealing with the Stone Saint, Sunny knew that her armor, just like the strange creature itself, had a very special spellweave. It was, in essence, a living armament. Unlike most Memories that could function on their own, it was simply a piece of dead stone when the main enchantment wasn't active.
So, after the onyx armor was damaged, it had to be awoken with soul essence to assume its true form and repair itself. However, there was no human on the Forgotten Shore capable of channeling soul essence, and so it remanded broken, which in turn made it useless to all the humans here.
'What a shame… that I'll be able to buy it for a measly sum of soul shards from these fools and feed it to my Shadow, ha!'
Sunny didn't really care whether the armor was intact or not. All he cared about was that it had six Ascended embers that his Stone Saint could devour. Maybe she'll even gain something extra because of her close affinity with the armor… after all, they came from the same source!
For a moment, Sunny considered the idea that his Shadow might refuse to destroy the Memory for the same reason… but then discarded it. She was just a Shadow, after all. His will was her will, right?
Now all that remained was to make the purchase…
Sunny scoffed.
"So it's, uh… just a decoration? How tacky."
Shaking his head, he threw one last glance at the onyx armor, forced himself to turn away, and continued to walk around the Memory Market.
Ten minutes later, he walked over to Kai and silently handed him the rucksack. Then, he named the Memories he wanted him to buy.
The charming young men blinked a couple of times, then said:
"Wait… you weren't joking? You really want to buy t—ten Memories?"
Sunny frowned at him and hissed:
"Keep your voice down! We need people to think that you are the one buying them, remember?"
Kai hesitated, then massaged his temples.
"Sunny, my friend… don't take it the wrong way, but you do know how much Memories cost, right?"
Instead of answering, Sunny gestured to the rucksack.
"Open it, you idiot."
The archer sighed and opened the clasp of the rucksack.
Then, he almost dropped it.
Inside the crude backpack, dozens of soul shards were softly glowing in the dark. There were around seventy of them in there, at least.
Kai's hands trembled. Raising his head, he stared at Sunny with wide eyes and whispered with horror:
"S—Sunny! Where did you get all these shards?!"
Seventy shards was more than most of the people in the Dark City would see in their lifetime. The contents of the unassuming rucksack were enough to start a chain of bloody conflicts that could culminate in a small war.
Sunny stared at him and shrugged.
"What do you mean? They were just gathering dust in my bedroom. I would bring more, but the rest wouldn't fit in the rucksack."
Kai looked as though he was on the verge of fainting. Then, he blushed in embarrassment.
'Ah, I bet he's remembering how he was bragging about being rich and tried to bribe me with a promise of ten whole shards, which, in his words, was a small fortune. Ha!'
While Sunny was silently gloating, a sudden shadow ran over the beautiful archer's face. In a small voice, he said:
"Wait, Sunny. Did you say "bedroom"?"
Sunny raised an eyebrow.
"Sure. Why?"
Kai shut his eyes.
"So you actually live in that cathedral?"
There was no point in denying it anymore, really.
"That's right."
Looking at Sunny with a pleading expression, the charming young man asked:
"Then what about the Fallen Devil? Is there really a Fallen Devil in that cathedral?"
Sunny looked at him with confusion.
"That bastard? Yup, he's there. What about him?"
A shaky breath escaped from Kai's mouth. Looking weak and defeated, he shook his head, opened his mouth, then closed it again and simply stared at a wall for some time.
He had the look of a man who suddenly realized that nothing in the world made sense anymore.
When Kai finally regained his ability to speak, his enchanting voice sounded strangely listless.
"I'll… I'll go buy the Memories, I guess."
Sunny offered him a bright smile.
"That'd be great! Thanks!"
Shaking his head, the archer called Stev over and slowly listed the Memories that Sunny told him to buy — including the damaged onyx armor.
With each next one he named, Stev's expression grew weirder and weirder. By the end, he was almost green.
"...Uh. Night, buddy. I really don't want to offend our friend Sunny and your choice of advisers… but you literally chose the ten worst Memories I have in the inventory, by far! If it was anyone else, I would have been ecstatic to get rid of them. But… but… I simply can't do this to you! Please, reconsider!"
Kai glanced at Sunny, asking what to do. It seemed that he didn't want to see his new friend make a terrible mistake.
Sunny smiled.
"Worst, you say? You said it yourself, right? Everyone heard that? I guess you'll give us a big discount then!"
Stev stared at him with a bizarre expression on his face. Then, he said:
"I don't think you understand. When I say worst, what I mean is that they're… trash! Complete trash! You do understand what trash means, right?"
Sunny shrugged.
"Well, you know what they say. One man's trash… is another man's breakfast. Wait, no. Another man's… uh… treasure? Yeah, treasure. That's right…"
***
Some time later, in an empty corridor of the Bright Castle, Kai took Sunny by the hand. A moment later, several sparks of energy traveled between them.
Sunny tilted his head and listened to the silence. Soon, he heard the faintly familiar voice of the Spell whisper:
[You have received a Memory…]
[You have received a Memory…]
[You have received a Memory…]
After the tenth announcement, everything grew quiet again.
Sunny grinned. Just like that, he had gained ten Memories to feed to his Shadow. He even managed to purchase a tier-six Ascended armor for the laughable sum of seven soul shards.
What a bargain.
'Ah, it's good to be rich!'
However, soon the grin disappeared from his face. Instead, something dark glistened in his eyes.
It was time to have a talk with Nephis.
Chapter 175: Reunion
On the way out of the castle, Kai was strangely silent. Sunny didn't mind, because he had a lot to think about.
Going back to that lodge… there were a lot of things there that he had hoped to never see, feel, or experience again. For a moment, he even thought about rushing straight back to his cathedral without making good on his promise.
But why should he? It's not like he asked to be invited back. Nephis was the one who wanted his help with something.
'Just pretend like you don't care. Also, demand to be compensated for whatever it is they want you to do. You're an outsider now, and your services won't be cheap.'
Yeah, that was the best option. He wasn't going to agree to anything that didn't serve his own selfish interests. And there were a lot of things that Changing Star, with her thriving hunting party and following, could provide him with.
There was this one thing in particular, something he really wanted to do, but couldn't on his own. Maybe they would be able to help him with that...
As they were approaching the lodge, Kai suddenly asked in a serious tone:
"Sunny… why did you want me to come with you, really?"
Sunny sighed. Glancing at the charming archer, he hesitated, then said:
"I want you to tell me if I'm being lied to."
Kai frowned.
"I thought that Lady Nephis was your friend. Why are you so wary of her?"
Sunny chuckled.
Was she a friend? Even he didn't know what exactly the two of them were to each other. Worse yet, he wasn't sure what they would become.
"She's the kind of friend you don't really want to lower your guard around."
He lingered for a moment, then added:
"There's also a guy called Caster. He's the one I especially don't trust."
The archer raised his eyebrows.
"I've heard only good things about Caster. Why him specifically?"
Sunny cast a sideways glance at him and scowled. To be honest, Caster hadn't really done anything to deserve his hostility. But there just was something about the proud Legacy that gave Sunny a familiar feeling.
He was too perfect. In Sunny's experience, only people with bad intentions were capable of appearing so flawless. Perhaps he was wrong, but the policy of always assuming the worst had too clean of a track record to be abandoned now.
"He just gives me the creeps."
Seemingly satisfied with this answer, Kai shrugged and followed Sunny into the lodge.
The headquarters of Changing Star's hunting party had changed a lot since his last visit. It had already looked pretty presentable back when he was a member, but now, the lodge was much more impressive.
The first thing that caught the eye was that it had grown much bigger. During the months of his absence, additional structures were built to expand it both horizontally and vertically. Now, it was by far the largest building in the outer settlement, almost starting to resemble a small town hall.
It was heavily fortified, too, especially from the side that faced the white road. A couple of lookouts were visible on the roof, observing the ruins below. They were wearing armor-type Memories and holding bows in their hands.
It was a far cry from how things were before.
Inside, a lot of people were busy with various tasks. Sunny froze for a moment, disoriented by all the activity. He almost felt as though he had somehow mistakenly returned to the castle.
The reason for it was not the neat and tastefully decorated interior, with warm carpets covering the stone floor and various tapestries hanging on the sturdy stone walls. No, the main difference was in how the people here comported themselves.
The rot of hopelessness was almost gone from their eyes, replaced with energy and vigor. Sunny frowned.
'Why hasn't Gunlaug put an end to all this yet?'
From everything that he saw, Nephis was almost asking to be destroyed. How was all of this possible?
His grim thoughts were disrupted by a young woman who greeted them with a smile.
"Welcome! Can I help you with something?"
Sunny stared at the smiling girl, trying to remember if he knew her. No one came to mind. Trying to remove the scowl from his face, he answered in a flat tone:
"Neph is expecting me."
The young woman blinked.
"Uh… sorry. Who is Neph?"
Sunny rolled his eyes.
"Sorry. Lady Nephis is expecting me. You know… Changing Star of the Immortal Flame Clan?"
The young woman's eyes widened.
"Oh! I see. Let me show you the way…"
Sunny wanted to retorn that he knew the way, but truth be told, he wasn't sure that he did. With all the changes that happened to the lodge, he had no idea where things were.
On their way, they passed the tiny room that used to belong to him. Just as they were walking by, Sunny glanced inside and saw that it was now home to someone else.
In fact, he recognized a couple of things that the new owner left on the narrow cot. They were Caster's. A corner of his mouth curled upward.
'Figures.'
It seemed as though he was thoroughly replaced by the scion of the Han Li clan. Well, whatever. The cot was not very comfortable anyway, unlike his luxurious wide bed in the hidden chamber of the cathedral.
Finally, the young woman led them to the area that used to be the central hall of the old lodge. Now, it was separated from the rest of it by a thick wall, with a sturdy wooden door barring the way inside.
Sunny took a deep breath, then walked in.
He had imagined that moment a lot of times in the past.
…Granted, he never thought that his reunion with the cohort would happen in the presence of an unreasonably attractive, washed-out pop star. But still.
Inside the room, a wide window opened onto an eerily breathtaking view of the Dark City. On the wall beside it, a map of the ruins was littered with various markings that contained valuable information. They seemed to be much denser than before.
There was a large wooden table beside the window, around which stood seven makeshift chairs. Currently, only two were occupied.
Effie was sitting on one, her feet unceremoniously resting on the table. As always, she looked extremely comfortable and relaxed. On the chair next to her, a beautiful blind girl was cradling a cup in her delicate hands. It was Cassie.
Nephis and Caster stood near the map, discussing something with each other.
The four of them were the core of the Immortal Flame hunting party.
Once Sunny and Kai entered, everyone turned to them.
Sunny put on a brave face and forced out a grin.
"Oh, so many familiar faces. Hi, everyone. No need to say how much you missed me. Anyway, this is Kai. Kai, say hi to everyone — these are Cassie, Caster, and Effie. You already know Nephis."
Giving him a strange look, the charming archer smiled dazzlingly and said in his stupidly beautiful voice:
"Uh… hello. Lady Nephis, Cassie, Caster, huntress Athena… it's very nice to meet you."
Cassie giggled.
"Huh, you won't believe it guys, I thought I just heard Night from Nightingale say my name. Crazy, right?"
Kai blinked.
"Oh, sorry. I am Night from Nightingale, actually."
Effie leaned forward and extended one arm.
Cassie's face, meanwhile, grew deathly pale. An expression of utter terror appeared on it. Her hands trembled, and the cup she was holding fell from them.
Catching the cup just a moment before it hit the floor, Effie sighed and shook her head.
"Every time… this happens every time…"
Sunny furrowed his brow and glanced at the beautiful archer with disdain.
'Oh come on! Was that reaction really necessary?!'
Chapter 176: Coming Clean
The four people in the room reacted to his arrival differently.
Nephis seemed to be indifferent, as always. However, Sunny knew her well enough to notice a strange tension hiding in the depths of her calm grey eyes.
Caster greeted him with an amiable smile, but there was coldness hiding behind it. It seemed as though the handsome scion was not happy about this turn of events. Did he see him as a rival for Neph's attention, or was there more to it?
In any case, it was not Sunny's problem. He did not plan on returning to the cohort on a permanent basis. Caster could have all the attention to himself.
Effie looked at him with a genuine surprise.
"Doofus? You are actually alive?"
Sunny blinked and stared at her for a few moments, then said in an acrid tone:
"Sorry to disappoint."
She shook her head.
"No, no. Just… how the hell did you manage to survive three whole months in the ruins?"
He grinned.
"What can I say? I had a good teacher."
Since Effie was the one who taught him how to navigate the Dark City, that compliment was directed at her. However, the huntress simply shook her head.
"No student of mine would be stupid enough to actually live in the ruins. Not to mention returning looking so… feral."
'Do I look feral?'
Sunny took a mental picture of himself. Ragged clothes, dirty hair, a crooked grin, a hint of madness burning in his eyes… no, he couldn't see anything wrong with how he looked. In fact, the thought he looked great.
With an offended frown, he glanced at Effie and said:
"Yeah? Well… you look like you've gained a little weight."
…In all the right places.
'Focus, fool!'
The huntress glared at him for a few moments, then laughed.
"A girl got to eat. But also… wanna die?"
And finally, there was Cassie.
Cassie seemed to have changed the most out of all of them. The changes were not instantly apparent, but to Sunny, who knew her so well, they were unmistakable.
The blind girl seemed more… mature? She looked older, somehow. It was as if there was an invisible weight pressing down on her, the kind that people usually accumulated with the flow of years. Her demeanor was calmer, more restrained. Almost… cold.
"Welcome back, Sunny. I'm so happy that you are alright."
Giving him a polite smile, she grew silent and turned away. This… wasn't exactly the kind of welcome he had expected from her. He had been sure that the blind girl would give him a hug, at least. That was how it always happened in his head.
'Maybe she is shy because of Kai.'
However, Sunny had a feeling that he already knew the true reason for her subdued attitude. He just didn't want to admit it.
It was the vision. That damn vision…
Chasing away the feeling of dread, he sat down on one of the chairs and offered another one to Kai.
"So… what did you guys want to discuss?"
Nephis and Caster exchanged glances. Before saying anything, Caster walked over to the door and closed it. After that, he summoned a Memory that looked like a bone flute and placed it on the table. Immediately, something in the room imperceptibly changed.
Sunny raised an eyebrow.
"What is that thing?"
The handsome young man sat on a chair next to Changing Star and said:
"This Memory has an enchantment that creates a cone of silence. No one outside this room will be able to hear what we're talking about now."
Ah. This fact alone was already enough to tell Sunny that they were going to discuss something that had to do with the Bright Lord, Gunlaug himself. Suddenly, he felt an irrational desire to be anywhere else but in this brightly lit room. The wide window began to look very alluring.
He sighed.
"So, the Bright Lord is finally ready to obliterate you all? Can't say that I'm surprised. If anything, it's strange that he didn't make a move much earlier."
Effie giggled.
"Oh, did he ever…"
Nephis glanced at her, making the huntress fall silent, and turned to Sunny:
"You are right. The Bright Lord is indeed about to make a move. We have withstood his previous attacks, but they were just a rehearsal. A few provocations to test out strength. Now, he is ready to act in earnest. And that's why I need your help."
Sunny raised his eyebrow:
"How can a cockroach like me help the great and mighty Changing Star of the Immortal Flame clan?"
Effie gave him and Nephis a strange look, then cleared her throat.
"Don't take it to heart, princess, but I sort of agree with Sunny. What can this little imp… uh, no offense, Sunny… do that we can't? I mean, he is a decent scout, but…"
"Hey! Offense taken!"
Changing Star smiled, then looked at Sunny.
"Don't be misled by his act, Effie. Sunny might behave like a cowardly weakling, but in fact, he's the last person in the Dark City I would want to face in combat. He is far more dangerous than anyone thinks he is. Isn't it right, Sunny?"
The smile froze on his face. A few moments passed in silence, with everyone staring at him. Finally, Sunny sighed.
"Oh well. I guess the secret is out of the box. Surprise, everybody! I am actually not a weakling. Who could have thought?"
Then, he glared at Effie and added in a mocking tone:
"Oh. My mistake. Actually, everyone except for you already knew. It seems that you are…"
However, Neph interrupted him:
"That's why he was able to survive three months in the ruins, just like he had survived two in the Labyrinth. Sunny is an extremely formidable fighter."
'Wow. Is she trying to flatter me?'
"...He's just a bit of a devious asshole. But that's exactly what makes him so dangerous."
'...I guess not.'
Looking at Effie, Sunny shrugged and smirked.
"If you don't believe her, just ask Night."
Suddenly dragged into the conversation, Kai coughed, hesitated for a moment, and then said:
"Uh… yes, I can confirm. He is indeed a bit of an asshole."
Sunny's face twitched.
"Not that! Tell them how I saved you!"
The charming archer fluttered his eyelashes with an innocent look, then added:
"Oh, right. Indeed, Sunny saved me in the ruins last night. He is a very exceptional and resourceful individual."
Sunny glanced at Effie with triumph. He didn't really want to provoke the tall huntress any further… but she did call him a little imp…
"See, Night has known me for just one night, but even he was able to see how fearsome I am. You and I, on the other hand, had hunted together for an entire month. How come you're so dense?"
Whatever. It's not like he would be spending a lot of time with Effie. Let her boil with anger…
With a teasing smile on his lips, Sunny turned to Nephis and asked:
"Anyway, what exactly do you want me to do?"
Changing Star hesitated, then said:
"I want you to take Effie to your hideout in the ruins and keep her safe there for about a week."
Sunny blinked.
Oh, no.
'...I'm dead.'
Chapter 177: Cloak and Dagger
Sunny grew silent and tried very hard not to look at the huntress, who was glaring at him with murder in her eyes. Did he hear it right?
"Uh… excuse me? Keep her safe?"
Nephis gave him a nod, then hesitated for a few moments and sighed.
"I guess I owe you an explanation."
With a frown, she glanced at the map of the Dark City. Her gaze was fixed on the symbol of a tower drawn in its center with white paint.
The Bright Castle.
After a few moments, she said:
"You asked why Gunlaug hasn't killed us all yet. This is a good question. However, the answer is… complicated."
Changing Star turned her head and looked at Sunny.
"Partially, it is because I have not challenged him openly yet. I also haven't done anything to justify an intervention. Everything we have accomplished for the benefit of the outer settlement not only fell outside the purview of his reign over the castle, but also strengthened the human position on the Forgotten Shore overall. Officially, he has no grounds to accuse me."
Sunny scoffed.
"It's not like Gunlaug really needs justification. He only needs the pretense of one, and even then just barely."
Nephis slightly frowned.
"You are right. If he really wanted to escalate the situation and bring about an open conflict, he could have easily created a reason. Alternatively, he could have sent Harus under the cover of night to make me disappear without a trace. But he didn't. And… we are not entirely sure why."
Sunny blinked.
"You don't know?"
Glancing at Caster, Neph shook her head.
"There are several possible reasons. Perhaps he is uncertain if Harus will be able to dispose of me. Perhaps he is using the growing status of the outer settlement as a deterrent against his lieutenants' ambitions. Perhaps he is just confident and patient. Whatever the case, Gunlaug more or less tolerated our existence for these past four months."
Caster sighed and added:
"Of course, there were still challenges we had to overcome. If we weren't cautious in how we dealt with these provocations, things would have been very different."
Changing Star nodded.
"Indeed. There were several attempts to taunt us into confrontation already. Nothing too bloody, though. However… things seem to have changed. We received word from the castle that Gunlaug is going to act against us soon. This time, he is aiming at one of my companions. The attack will be a serious one, and the target is Effie."
Sunny glanced at the unruly huntress and raised his eyebrows. He had a lot of questions.
"Why her?"
Caster clenched his fists.
"It could have been any of us, really, but Effie… despite all my warnings… got into a rather vulgar argument with a bunch of Guards who came into the outer settlement for some entertainment. Coincidentally, some of these Guards went missing last night. No one knows what happened to them."
'...Oops.'
Sunny was pretty sure that he knew exactly what had happened to them, though. After all, he was the one who killed them.
…But Caster didn't need to know any of this.
"Actually, I might know something about that!" Kai suddenly said, smiling like an idiot.
'Who asked that fool to open his mouth?!'
He tried to make the archer shut up with a murderous stare, but it was already too late. Kai enthusiastically went on to describe how he was kidnapped, put in the well, and then rescued by a mysterious stranger — who turned out to be Sunny.
Luckily, he was under the impression that the kidnappers were all slaughtered by the Black Knight, not realizing that Sunny was the one who had lured them into the cathedral in the first place — after personally killing their leader.
If Kai knew the full truth, things might have turned rather awkward.
After he was done talking, Caster sighed.
"Thank you, this is a very valuable piece of information. Sadly, it doesn't change anything. Effie is still in danger. The Bright Lord is going to use her as a hostage and force Lady Nephis to challenge him. If she does, he will kill her. If she doesn't, Effie will die, and our reputation will be ruined. Either way, he wins."
Sunny cast a sideways glance at Effie, who was still relaxed and seemingly undisturbed by the prospect of dying horribly in the dungeons of the Bright Castle. In fact, she was currently more interested in fishing out a piece of meat that was stuck between her pearly teeth and not paying Caster any attention.
'What a lunatic.' Sunny thought with scorn, making his shadow shake its head at the irony of that statement.
Turning to Nephis and Caster, he asked:
"How do you know all this?"
In fact, this question was moot. He already had the idea. To receive information about Gunlaug's plans, they had to have a spy in the castle. More than that, given the nature of that information, it had to be someone of considerable rank. Perhaps even someone in the inner circle of the Bright Lord.
Was Neph… working with one of the lieutenants?
Sunny counted the number of chairs in the room. There were seven chairs, but only six people.
'Interesting…'
Caster hesitated, then reluctantly said:
"We have an… ally."
Sunny decided not to press the issue any further. Frankly, he didn't really want to know. There was just one last question he wanted to ask.
"I see. Well, there is this one thing that I don't really understand. You said to keep Effie safe for a week. What is going to change in a week? I doubt that Gunlaug will magically forget everything after a few days."
A heavy silence descended on the room. No one seemed to want to speak first.
After a few moments passed, Nephis finally broke the silence. Looking in the window, she leaned back and said in her usual even, indifferent tone:
"In a week, we will be ready to leave the city."
Sunny almost fell from his chair.
…That was not what he had expected to hear.
Chapter 178: Lost Expedition
Soon, another map was spread on the table. This one was drawn on a piece of crude parchment made out of monster hide, and much less detailed than the one hanging on the wall.
Well, that was understandable. Because the second map did not depict the Dark City, but the Forgotten Shore itself. Sunny stared at it in stunned silence.
…Yeah. Nephis had not wasted any time during these three months.
He had no idea how she had gathered all this information, but there was a lot more on the map than he could have ever imagined.
At the center of it, a straight black like depicted the Crimson Spire. The Labyrinth flowed from it, devouring the parchment like an ocean of blood. To the east, a small circle of black ink with a symbol of a white tower inside of it marked the Dark City.
The city was perched on the edge of another, much larger circle. It didn't take too much effort to recognize the cyclopean crater — after all, Sunny had traversed it on a rickety boat once, a lifetime ago. However, only now, looking at it in scale, did he finally realize just how giant the crater was, and how vast the Forgotten Shore itself appeared.
Back on Earth, it would have been as large as a continent.
The Dream Realm was indeed much bigger than their own planet, considering that just one of its numerous regions was this enormous.
There were other symbols on the map that he didn't recognize. However, several of them attracted his attention especially.
On the other side of the crater, almost exactly opposite the Dark City, a symbol of a tree depicted the Ashen Barrow. Some distance to the east of it, on a straight line, there was a mark in the shape of a red cross.
Another red cross was drawn inside the crater just outside the eastern side of the Dark City. The third one was about a week's worth of traveling time to the north, near a symbol that looked like a grotesque, misshapen skull. The fourth one was halfway between the ruins and the Crimson Spire. The fifth one lay to the south, about the same distance as the third, drawn atop the symbol of an arching bridge.
The last red cross was at the very edge of the parchment, far away to the south, beyond the Labyrinth. Near it, two symbols were drawn: one was a crown, and the other one was a question mark.
Sunny quickly realized what these crosses represented.
They were the giant statues of the seven forgotten heroes who had given the terrible oath to vanquish the darkness and created the Starlight Legion.
The one to the east of the Soul Devourer was the statue of the knight that he had used as a shelter on his first night in the Dream Realm. The one near the walls of the city belonged to the woman whose hand had saved them from drowning in the dark sea on the night of their escape.
The other four crosses, most likely, marked four more headless statues.
But where was the seventh?
Frowning, Sunny glanced at the map and said:
"So let me get this straight. You want to leave the Dark City, cross the Labyrinth, reach the edges of the Forgotten Shore… and then return?"
Nephis smiled.
"Pretty much, yes."
He sighed.
"If we somehow survive the months of traveling through the Labyrinth and actually manage to escape it, why the hell would we return?"
The smile on her face withered. Changing Star lingered for a few moments, then pointed to the three symbols at the lower edge of the map: the red cross, the question mark, and the crown.
"The first lord of the castle led an expedition to find the way out of the Forgotten Shore. This is where their trace disappeared. From what we were able to learn, an unassailable mountain chain blocks the path to the south. They ventured into the mountains… and never returned. Nothing but death awaits us there."
Sunny scratched the back of his head.
"So you aren't really looking for a way out… you're looking for the remains of the cohort of Sleepers that had conquered the castle fifteen years ago?"
Neph nodded.
"There is an item that they took away from the castle. If we find it… we'll have a chance in the fight against Gunlaug."
Sunny frowned. He felt as though she was not telling him everything. Maybe what little trust remained between them was not enough to share those secrets. Maybe she didn't want someone else in the room to hear them…
But then again, he didn't really care. Changing Star's business was her own. Sunny was just here as a potential mercenary. As long as the reward was worth it, he was ready to not ask any questions.
Provided that not knowing the answers was not going to get him killed, of course.
Feeling his hesitation, Nephis added:
"The way to the mountains is not as dangerous as you think. There is… a method we can use to reach them comparatively safely. But once we're there... that's where we'll need your talents. Having you with us will make a lot of things easier."
Sunny looked at her with doubt:
"How do you know all this? It's not like there's anyone in the Dark City who was alive back then."
Nephis shrugged.
"There isn't, but there are stories. Some written evidence. However, most of this we have learned from Cassie's visions."
She gave the blind girl a warm look.
"Cassie has helped us a lot."
Sunny had to think. If Changing Star made this plan, it meant that she had good reasons to believe that it was doable. Of course, there would be danger. Nothing on the Forgotten Shore was ever safe or easy. But there was a rare opportunity in all of this, too.
He felt very tempted to leave the ruins for a few months in the company of an extremely formidable cohort. Outside the walls of the Dark City, Nightmare Creatures were generally of a lower rank than those inside. The efficiency of his hunting would be much higher, which would land him more shadow fragments and Memories to feed to the Stone Saint.
Especially if powerhouses like Nephis, Effie, and Caster were fighting alongside him. But more importantly, if Cassie was there to warn them of the dangers that they had no business trying to fight.
He never forgot how many times her affinity to mysteries and revelations had saved their lives in the past. Like on that awful night when they had summoned a terrifying mimic from the depths of the dark sea.
With a true seer accompanying them, the most harrowing thing about the Labyrinth — the cursed black waters — were not as unknowable and thus deadly anymore.
So he was not immediately against the idea, more so because he would be additionally compensated for the efforts.
But… there was something else that he had to consider.
Looking up, Sunny glanced at the people gathered in the room and cleared his throat.
"Uh… I would like to talk to Nephis alone. Please."
Most of them just stared at him without moving. Caster, especially, did not seem happy about the prospect.
'What is it about him and Neph? Why is he so… possessive?'
But after Changing Star gave them a look, they reluctantly stood up and left the room one after another.
***
Soon, Sunny and Nephis were left alone.
He hesitated for a long time before finally speaking. His voice was raw and hoarse:
"Neph… why are you doing this? Why are you trying to pull me back? Don't you know how this all will end?"
She watched him silently for a while with an inexorable expression. Then, she simply said:
"Because there's only two people I trust in this world, Sunny. One is Cassie. The other one is you. I only trust you to have my back."
He couldn't help but laugh bitterly.
"Have your back? Neph, you know what awaits the two of us in the future. This story won't have a happy ending. There'll be only... only sorrow, pain, and rage. Remember?"
Changing Star lingered for a few moments. Her face was calm and firm. When the silence became almost overwhelming, she finally answered:
"Life is not a story, Sunny. It only ends when you die."
He smiled crookedly, not knowing how to answer.
"So? Will you help me?"
Sunny sighed and stood up, glancing at the map of the Forgotten Shore one last time.
"I… don't know. I need some time to think. I'll take Effie and keep her safe for a week. You'll have the answer once we meet again."
She nodded, accepting that condition.
Turning around, Sunny forced himself to appear nonchalant and left.
As soon as the door closed behind him, his expression changed.
'Damn! I forgot to discuss my compensation!'
It would look really silly if he went back now… right?
Right?
The shadow palmed its face, once again lamenting the stupidity of its master.