Blaze sat near the Carapace Centurion's corpse. He was lying down, wounds covering his abdomen. He turned to see Sunny lying beside him; both were on the verge of losing consciousness.
Blaze, Nephis, and Sunny had finished the fight. The battle had been much easier compared to the original novel, but they were still gravely injured.
As his vision slowly focused, he saw Nephis's pale face looming above him. Her short silver hair was wet, sticking close to her skin.
She was caressing both their faces and began to heal them. Almost immediately, Changing Star's face contorted in a grimace of excruciating agony, and she let out a terrible, muffled scream.
Her skin became as white as a sheet of paper. As she bit her lower lip, drops of blood rolled down her chin.
As the radiance grew in intensity, Nephis shut her eyes tightly, tears streaming down her tortured, bloodless face. 'Yeah,' Blaze thought. 'It is her Flaw.'
After healing both of them, Blaze stood up and walked to Nephis. Crawling away a few steps, Changing Star stopped, braced on her knees and hands, and vomited violently. Her whole body shivered uncontrollably. Blaze went to her and lent a hand. She looked at him, and he helped her to a safe place.
**********
By the time the storm was over, it was already deep into the night. Blaze, Sunny, Nephis, and Cassie huddled together for warmth and slept as though they were dead, too tired to keep watch. If anything were to happen, the shadow would likely alarm them. If not, so be it; they were simply too exhausted to care.
Luckily, the rest of the night passed without incident. In the morning, no one was in a hurry to leave the cliffs. They gathered meat from the dead Centurion, collected the two soul shards, and moved to the opposite side of the small island, fearing the remains would attract scavengers.
As it turned out, they were right. Soon after they left, a dark spot appeared in the sky. It grew larger as it approached the cliffs, landing near the corpse in a whirlwind. 'Spire Messenger,' Blaze thought.
"Neph. What do you think that thing is?" Sunny asked. Nephis lowered her gaze from the sky. "I have no idea."
Sunny nodded and went about his business. He still had to perform his thousand strikes. After making a fire, they roasted the meat and had a hefty breakfast. Afterward, they lay down to rest.
Blaze looked at Sunny and thought, 'It seems he got his clarity.' He then walked over to Nephis, who was sitting on the cliff's edge. "Thanks for saving my ass," Blaze said. Nephis glanced at him before turning away. "I did." "Thank you," Blaze repeated.
This time, she looked at him longer. Her face was indifferent. "There's no need to thank me. Without you and your Aspect, we would have had a hard time killing those creatures."
She paused, then added, "We're allies."
"Your Flaw," Blaze spoke.
"Every time you use your ability, you feel pain, right?"
"Yes," she answered.
"How severe?" Blaze Spoke
"Like burning alive.",Nephis replied
Blaze sighed. "Well, I will try to make sure you don't have to use your ability so frequently in the future."
Nephis stared at him. "Thanks."
********
Blaze returned to the makeshift camp. Sunny approached him and said, "I have a present for you." "Is it armor?" Blaze asked. Sunny nodded and transferred the Memory. Blaze summoned it.
Memory: [Starlight Legion Armor]
Rank: Awakened
Type: Armor
Memory Description: [Born in the all-consuming darkness, seven valiant heroes made an oath to return light to the cursed land. Time has erased their names and their faces, but the memory of the defiant oath still remains.]
Sparks of light appeared around him. A moment later, they covered his body, turning into a black, skintight bodysuit of durable material. Then, intricate pieces of pristine white plate armor materialized. First the greaves and vambraces, then the pauldrons and breastplate, engraved with seven shining stars. It was followed by a helmet with a white plume.
Blaze sighed. "Finally."
"It seems your wishes were answered," Cassie said.
Blaze looked at her. "Wanna exchange armors?" Cassie nodded and they exchanged, allowing her to get her old Transcended armor back.
As Blaze lay down, he thought, 'Wearing the armor of the bastard who tortured me in the First Nightmare... I hope I never have to kill a human moving forward .'
*******************
SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE AT NIGHT
In the Dark City, the outskirts were at a standstill. Tessai, one of Gunlaug's lieutenants, stood outside a particular room with twelve men.
Nephis, Cassie, Sunny, Kai, Effie, and Caster watched the spectacle. "Lady Nephis, we should stop this," Caster whispered. "Her life is in danger." "She won't join us," Nephis replied. "If it goes to trial, I will challenge for her. But until then, she made it clear she wants no part of us."
Tessai barked at the door, "Woman, You have been accused of attacking one of the Castle people mentally."
A woman emerged.Her long blonde hair was casually tied up as they smoothly and luxuriantly flowed down. Her emerald eyes reflected a somewhat palish flame, looking as deep as the ocean and also as pure as a gemstone. Her facial features and the shape of her face were matched with a stunning beauty. Her bearing and elegance were clear and pure.
Beside her lay a golden retriever, alert and growling. "How may I help you?"
she asked calmly,Which Unnerved. "Audrey Hall,You have been ordered to die for the benefit of the settlement and Attempt to attack the Castle people," Tessai declared.
Audrey didnt reply and simply looked at him calmly,Which got on Tessai Nerves
Tessai spoke,"Any Last words?"
Audrey looked at the bracelet on her right hand, which was blinking red.
she spoke in a serious tone"Save yourselves," she said.
Suddenly, the first man to move froze. He gripped his neck, gasping for air, before being violently dragged upward into the dark sky. A horrific scream echoed: "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" A moment later, his ripped-apart corpse fell from the Sky. One by one, Tessai's men were snatched by invisible chains.
Tessai was left alone. "Show yourself, coward!" he shouted. A chain wrapped around his neck, beginning to glow with hellfire. Above them, a Spire Messenger Echo appeared, completely wreathed in flames. On top of the beast stood Blaze. Tessai looked at him spoke"You... Mad Hunter..."
Tessai gasped.
"Rest in hell,"
Blaze said coldly.
The hellfire consumed Tessai until only a charred corpse remained. Blaze tossed the body aside and, without glancing at Nephis or her cohort, commanded the Spire Messenger to charge toward the Bright Castle.
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I skipped the carapace centurion fight,Kindly give reveiws and Powerstones