A silver haired woman stood on the edge, her gaze lingering on a tall spire.
Nephis still couldn't believe it.
'But why?'.
Nephis couldn't help but ask herself.
Why did Gunlaug surrender?
—FLASH BACK—
The great hall of the Bright Castle grew silent and still.
However, that stillness was not tranquil, but like a predator that fell low to the ground, ready to explode into a violent lunge to tear its prey apart.
The Sleepers pressed themselves against the walls, giving Changing Star and the Bright Lord space for their eventual battle.
Effie was dragged away from the middle of the hall by two Guards, and now, there was nothing but emptiness separating the two fighters.
From one side of the hall, the five lieutenants — Gemma, Tessai, Kido, Seishan, and Harus — were looking at their master with complicated emotions.
On the other side of it, Kai, Caster, and the leaders of the outer settlement hunting parties were doing the same.
Cassie was also there, her hand resting on the hilt of the Quiet Dancer.
There was a grim, somber expression on her beautiful face.
Sunny was lingering near her, his face scrunched into a frown.
And last was Isaac, who stood on the side with an indifferent expression.
Isaac...
Nephis did not know what to think of the man.
Especially after the last conversation they had.
It was not as if she hadn't had this conversation with him before, but it was that the conversation had never escalated to such an extent.
All she wanted to know was why did that man look like her?
When she first saw Isaac from afar, she was stunned.
It was like looking at a mirror....
Well, a gender bending mirror.
Other than her silver hair and gender, Isaac looked like her in every way.
It had confused her greatly.
As such when she found him alone she decided to ask him at the Academy.
That's when he first denied it.
Of course, having similarities towards someone else wasn't unfounded in the current world.
He could've been a descendent from one of the branch clans that were once formally with the Immortal Flame Clan.
But the resemblance was just too much.
But the man had denied it.
She had even tried to pull some leverage with the academy professors.
What she got back was rather surprising.
There was almost no information on Isaac.
The only thing they had on him was the fact that he was from the outskirts.
And normally those in the outskirts are not technically citizens as such the government does not keep strict tabs on them.
That was why she had accepted becoming friends with him to get closer, to find out more about him.
Only then could she—
"Neph!".
Nephis was suddenly brought out of her thoughts as Cassia's voice rang in her ears.
'I will think about this another time'.
Sparks of light appeared in the air in front of Nephis.
A silver longsword appeared in her hand, and she pointed it to the ground... for now.
She glanced at the Bright Lord, expecting to see the same sparks swirling around his hands.
However, there was none.
Instead, the liquid gold flowed back revealing his face.
Surprisingly, his face was handsome.
He had a short beard and long blonde hair.
He looked surprisingly young, no older than twenty seven.
Readying herself, Nephis slowly began to raise her sword.
"I surrender".
Nephis froze.
The entire throne room grew silence.
A few moments later, a voice rang out.
The voice wasn't loud, barely a whisper yet everybody heard it clearly.
"W-what?!?!".
—Flash Back End—
Even now Nephis did not know what they were planing.
Or if they even had a plan to begin with.
Shaking her head Nephis brought her mind back to what was currently happening.
They had begun to siege the spire.
***
Multiple abominations dropped dead right in front of him.
Two clear grey eyes observe the battlefield with cold detachment.
With the axe in one hand and a crude bone blade in the other, blood began to pool around him.
Isaac had long gotten used to the bloodshed and the gore of the Shadow Slave world.
It was to the point he no longer felt the emotion of disgust being swallowed by his Innate Ability.
Sunless had already left to fight the coral heroes and destroy the seven seals banishing the dark sea.
Isaac knew what would happen after.
The annihilating sun would ascend.
And it would burn the souls of the Sleepers.
'There are far more now'.
Due to Isaac's plan the entire Bright Castle surrendered.
This gave a large boost on the amount of people that would survive the forgotten shore.
And hopefully this would also increase the amount of sleepers that would join the ranks of the fire keepers.
Slaying another abomination Isaac's gaze lingered at the top of the spire.
He already knew what he wanted to do.
He had already had a plan.
Ever since he lost his connection to the Spell Isaac had sometimes used his Dormant Ability and increased his intelligence and thought process.
And he had come down to a theory on what might happen on the last days of the forgotten shore.
It was that he might not even be able to use the portal to return back to the waking world.
Isaac didn't know if the portal needed one to already have a connection with the Spell.
To his knowledge, no one had ever been disconnected from the Spell excluding the time Sunny entered his Second Nightmare.
Even then, one couldn't say he was completely disconnected.
That is why Isaac had long since had a plan for the event that he could not pass through the portal into the waking world.
Looking up at the dark sky, that would soon be lit up with a soul annihilating sun, Isaac felt a small hint of anxiety being swallowed by his Innate Ability.
He hoped.
He truly hoped that he would not be forced to go with his back up plan.
———————————————————-
Please give one power stone.