Shadow Slave: Eternal Dawn

A week had passed. Sunny and Cassie were leaving the castle. Harper gave them a rather meek goodbye, and the Castle Guard watched regretfully as Cassie passed through the gates.

Sunny had to bite his tongue before he spat at them.

Sometimes later they met Nephis in the outer settlement and he began to explain everything that had transpired — all that his shadow learned over the past seven days of incessant scouting. She, too, had many things to share. The Crimson Spire. The Crimson Terror. Things began to click into place as he listened to her, and then the moment finally came.

Sunny grimaced, eyes dropping to the ground as he began to recount the trial.

"The same man that had interrupted us with Caster — Nico — was picked to face against Jubei. If you can even call what happened a fight."

He paused for a moment, jaw tight. The image of the silver knight reappeared in his mind, hand dripping blood, steps carrying him out of the hall without care.

"It was... bad. I've seen some messed up things, but this — this was something else. He didn't just kill Jubei. He made him writhe, kneel, scream. Forced him to dismiss his Memories."

A shadow veiled Sunny's face.

"Then, he killed him. Snapped his neck. Ripped his soul shard out from his chest."

Cassie, beside him, held a cup with shaky hands. She couldn't see the horrible scene, but she still heard it all in stark clarity. Perhaps the best clarity. The ear-piercing scream, the crunching of shattered bones, the guttural cries; all of it etched into her mind.

Nephis narrowed her eyes darkly. The lieutenant she'd heard so much about and even talked to, in the end, was just another psychopathic killer like the rest of them. But after what she'd learned, she knew he took no joy in the task. The man performed his task as if it was a job. The fact he decided to take Jubei's soul shard was proof of that.

Still, that was no excuse. To murder was his choice and his alone. But... could she blame him? Her plans were to take over the entirety of the Bright Castle. Murder was not an exception to her plans. She wished to take it over without blood, but to achieve her goals, she would sacrifice rivers. The only difference between them was that he was willing to pretend to submit to the Bright Lord and she wasn't.

Across from her, Sunny had collected himself, straightened, and said:

"Uh… I think that covers pretty much everything. Of course, there are a lot of things I wasn't able to learn at all."

Nephis was in deep thought, digesting the mountain of information that Sunny had thrown at her. Her face was cold and distant.

Feeling that her friend wasn't going to react, Cassie patted him on the shoulder, smiled, and said:

"You've done a very good job, Sunny! This is amazing."

He blinked and looked aside, slightly embarrassed.

"Well… of course it is. That is what my Aspect is actually for, remember? The whole monster-slaying thing is nothing but an unfortunate misuse of my talents, honestly."

'Yeah… I would much prefer to stay hidden somewhere safe and let my shadow do all the work.'

The shadow slightly turned its head and threw a menacing look his way. It was not amused.

Sunny smiled, then looked at Nephis.

"So… who is the pathfinder you want to recruit? There can't be a lot of experienced hunters in the outer settlement, right? And each of them must have their hunting party already. How are we going to persuade one to join us?"

Changing Star lingered, then said in a strangely tense voice:

"Yes. Everyone who is worth something has their own party — except for two people. I only mean to truly recruit one, but persuading her won't be easy, and we'll need to talk to the other first."

She sighed, then added:

"Actually, you already know both of them. It's Effie and Nico."

***

Sometime later, the trio were standing outside a quaint, tiny cottage. Unlike the other hovels that sloppily decorated the slope, it almost looked well-built. Roughly carved stone bricks constituted its walls, with a roof of solid, untarnished wood — reinforced by the hides, armors, and scales of various monsters. A tiny campfire was situated just outside the cabin. Small stones were gathered around to form the pit. The bitter odor of smoke still permeated the air, betraying the fact that it had been used just recently.

Sunny groaned internally:

'We can't seriously be here, can we?'

He recalled the details the two had shared along the way. According to Cassie, Nico possessed four Attributes. However, only one caught his mind. The lineage Attribute. Nephis had told them he had claimed to hold the blessing of a god, but she confirmed it.

The Heart God. The god of souls, emotions, memory, hunger, and growth.

Sunny had only ever heard of one lineage — his. The incomplete one left behind by the nebulous daemon, Weaver. Imaging what one could do with the true, complete lineage of a real god was... sobering.

Then there were whatever runes Cassie had seen besides Nico's. She only saw two, and not clearly enough to discern their meaning. What that meant none of them knew.

That seemed to only give Nephis more reason to return, though. There was too much risk if the Bright Lord found out they were working together, but learning more about the subtleties of the Bright Castle from someone like him would prove invaluable.

As Sunny finished reviewing his thoughts on the matter, Nephis rose her hand and knocked three times on the wooden door.

Nobody responded.

The three shared tense gazes, then Nephis knocked again — louder, firmer. When again there was no response, she looked back at Sunny, and he nodded, his shadow slipping under the doorway and slinking around the interior.

Still nothing. The house, though full of innumerable materials collected by the lieutenant, proved empty.

He shook his head.

Cassie put a hand on Neph's shoulder, proposing quietly:

"Maybe he's in the castle? Or hunting?"

Sighing, she stepped away.

"We'll see."

***

Alone, in a grand bedroom at the very top floor of the Bright Castle, was Seishan. Her supple, stormy gray skin was framed by a gorgeous blood-red dress. Long, lustrous black hair tumbled down her back like a cape of pure night, and two silver bracelets hung loosely around her wrists, posture set into a regal stance as she walked toward the balcony, steps quiet as a whisper.

Outside, the sun was setting. Innumerable hues of crimson and violet streaked across the sky. Crisp, cool air filled her lungs this high up, and a mere couple hundred meters or so above, the ever-present sea of gray clouds that veiled the Forgotten Shore were shimmering with the distant, distorted light. Below her, the grand marble architecture of the Bright Castle, and surrounding it, a ruined plain of ancient buildings. Fearsome shapes shifted in the gaps.

Somewhere far away, the dark sea was rising.

Exhaling deeply, Seishan stepped onto the platform, then noticed something unnatural on the railing. Curious, she trailed her fingers across the smooth surface, outstretching a hand and grasping a thin sheet of stone. A scattering of bloodied, black feathers surrounded the tablet, and vague claw marks belied the arrival and passage of some enormous creature.

A subtle smirk crept onto her face as she read the engravings.

Then, she shook her head, muttering:

"So, that is what he has decided upon... Ah, what an ambitious little brother I have."

***

Poised atop the enormous walls of the Dark City, a silver knight was beholding the macabre crimson labyrinth. In one gauntlet a glassy torch rested. On his belt, a strange, black clay pot was strapped. And in the sky above, something descended, its speed strikingly fast, appearing as little more than a dark comet. Before it shattered the stones, its massive wings unfurled, catching the wind and gently gliding until it landed beside the figure.

Revealed in the fading sunlight, its form was sharply defined — a cross between a lion and carrion bird, with two robust hind legs and a scattering of elongated, messy limbs protruding from its chest, each ending with harrowing claws. The ghostly pale body of the Spire Messenger truly upheld its status as a Fallen Beast.

Red flames licked at its hollow eyes. Taught muscles stretched like bundled wire under its emaciated skin. It's beak, long and narrow, clicked open, revealing rows of needle-sized teeth.

Nico glanced at the creature beside him, its head lowered expectantly. He grabbed a bunch of greasy feathers, saddled himself atop the abomination, then spoke, voice calm as a still lake:

"Fly east. To the edge of the crater."