On our way back , I had summoned the [Colorful Cloak] , it draped over my shoulders as I hid my face from the other hunters. I was walking near Sunny , which looked very distraught. Then I heard him mumble some things..
"A woman with a bronze spear drowning in a tide of monster ... a woman with a bronze spear..."
I looked at Sunny with the corner of my eye , it seemed that he had also deciphered the prophecy..
I shuddered, remembering what Cassie had told them on that dark night in stark detail:
'I saw the human castle again. Only this time, it was at night. There was a lonely star burning in the black skies, and under its light, the castle was suddenly consumed by fire, a woman was crying rivers of blood flowing down its halls. I saw a corpse in a broken golden armor sitting on a throne , and behind his throne a scary looking fiend stood; a woman with a bronze spear drowning in a tide of monsters; an archer trying to pierce the falling sky with his arrows ... '
This vision was about our future , not our past.
I looked at Nephis with a blank gaze , she was healing the injured with a pained expression on her face.
She was the lonely star that burned in the dark skies above the Bright Castle, bringing with it fire and ruin. After all, her name was Changing Star.
Or, depending on the runes used to write it, Star of Misfortune.
The Star of Ruin.
The woman who was crying rivers of blood was most likely Shashi. Effie was the woman drowning in the sea of monsters. The archer.. I don't know yet.. But I think that we will be meeting soon.
As for the fiend.. That was most likely me. I broke his armor in the future huh?
I looked back at Neph. My gaze cold and blank.
She was going to lead the Dark City inhabitants to their death. She had once said , that she would return back no matter what had to be done.
And I did not mind. I did not mind her plan at all , I was also willing to sacrifice some random strangers to get out of here too. However I did not entrust her with the well beings of my friends after understanding this piece of information. I will not get in her way , however I am more than ready to kill her if something happens to 'them'.
***
We had returned back to the outer settlement. Everyone welcomed us , I was not particularly in the mood to return back to my cot , so I stayed outside to get some fresh air and maybe even help people out.
Not that I cared about them.
I saw Sunny walking into the lodge with Harper in the corner of my eye. I was feeling somewhat suspicious about the Harper guy..
I settled down on a rock, thinking about today's hunt. But my thoughts were cut short as someone sat behind me and used my back as a wall to lean against. I turned my head slightly, giving Shashi a side-eye.
"What? Can't I get comfortable?" Shashi asked.
I scoffed.
"There are other places you can get comfortable."
"Well, I like this one."
I didn't reply. The silence that followed wasn't uncomfortable, so I didn't bother breaking it. After a while, Shashi spoke again.
"That transformation thing of yours... it seems like it's gotten more powerful. What kind of ability is it, anyway?"
"Augmentation, of sorts. If I touch my skin with that corrosive ability, I get a kind of power-up."
"Don't use it." Her voice was firm. "I could see it's taking a toll on your mind."
Even through the sarcasm in her tone, I could sense the worry behind it.
"I won't. Unless it's necessary."
"I see. Just don't go mad."
"So you don't lose your blood source?"
I said it with a smirk, but was cut off by a sharp pain as she smacked the back of my head.
"Jerk."
I rubbed the back of my head.
"What kind of hands are those? It feels like a rock hit my head."
"You want another one?" She said coldly.
"No thanks..." I said with a defeated sigh.
We stayed in silence once again , leaning our backs against each other. I wished that I didn't have such poor social skills , I really wanted to talk to her about some sort of topic but just couldn't find it.
"Have I ever told you about my sister?" I asked.
"You have a sister?"
"Yes... at least, I had one."
Shashi did not reply , simply leaning against me more , perhaps trying to give some sort of comfort.
"She was a year younger than me , if you couldn't tell: I am quiet bad at socializing , so I spent most of my time with her. She was the only one in my life I could rely on."
After a beat of silence , I continued.
"She died when she was fifteen."
"How so? That is a young age to pass away.."
"Nightmare spell.. the spell infected her before it infected me. She was a skilled swordswoman and a good archer. Still , she couldn't survive her first trial. After that , I knew the spell was coming for me too , since it always infects blood related people. So I trained very hard , even joined some gangs to gather real fighting experiences among them."
"Didn't your parents tell you off for joining gangs..?"
"They did , although they were absent in our life , they still complained about me coming home looking like a corpse. After 3 months , the spell finally infected me too."
"And now here we are. In a death zone with chances of escaping close to a zero."
Shashi gave a defeated sigh , it seemed like she had attentively listened to me yapping about my life. I was grateful to say the least.
"People have been talking about you , the rumors quickly spread that you ripped off a spire messengers leg so easily. You have gained a lot of respect , Levi."
I stared at her.
"Easily? I almost shit myself."
"Well you looked like you are having a blast to me, laughing and all that."
I rolled my eyes.
"Whatever you say.."
In the corner of my eye, I saw Caster and Sunny walking out the lodge. Caster seemed to be carrying a heavy bag as Sunny followed him. Why were they together? I thought Sunny hated the guys guts..
"Something is dead inside that bag." Shashi interrupted my thoughts.
"What? How can you tell?"
"I can sense blood flow and the condition of a body from some distance. They are carrying a corpse.."
I stared at Caster and Sunny with narrowed eyes , what were they up to?
"I will ask Sunny about it , you should act like you didn't see anything."
Shashi put a hand on my shoulder , and squeezed it tightly , looking at me with a cold smile.
"Are you giving me orders , good sir?"
"uh.. please?" I asked hesitantly.
"Better." She said as she patted my shoulder , then let go. "You will share the information with me though."
"Alright.."
After some light-hearted conversation , we finally went back to the lodge when the night was nearing.
***
I spent the next day spying on Sunny , and occasionally Caster. I did not want to ask Sunny outright just in case.
Towards the afternoon , I saw Nephis and Sunny Leave the lodge and go to a secluded part of the slums. I followed them without making my presence known. Hiding behind a lodge , I activated my corrosive touch and pressed it against my ears. Immediately , my hearing sensed became much more potent , it was a new trick I had learned. Although when I did so , my ears earned themselves some sharp points.. I think it was called Elf ears in the media..
At first , it was nothing special , Nephis was simply asking Sunny why he was being emotional in his training. However after that , things took a dark turn. I learned about Nephis's past , it seems the girl had faced many assassination attempts in the past.
After this , Sunny asked Nephis about her real goal , and she replied with a funny lie:
"I'm trying to help these people. What else?"
Out of nowhere , Sunny started talking about his sister. It seemed he also had a sister , and they were separated when they were young. She ended up in a rich family while Sunny ended up in the outskirts. And when he had finally found his sister , he understood that she didn't need him and had forgotten all about him.
I felt bad for my friend..
Sunny associated his situation with the situation in the slums and said that they did not want her help.
Suddenly Sunny cursed Nephis..
"...Fuck you, Neph."
"What?" I almost could hear the confusion in her voice, it was a bit funny.
"I said go fuck yourself with that bullshit ... Saint Nephis. You might have fooled everyone else, but I know you. I know you better than anyone else. So I don't buy your whole savior act even for a second."
"Help these people? Please! What are you going to help them with? Help them turn into corpses? You and I both know how this ends. Cassie already told us. Fire and rivers of blood, right? Is this what you're planning?"
'Don't violate her like that Sunny..'
However things took a bad turn after that. Nephis admitted , and even said that she had learned all these manipulation tactics from Sunny himself.
"No matter what happened, you somehow always managed to keep your real thoughts, desires, and reasons hidden. I've never seen anyone so adept at deception. Congratulations, Sunny! The mind games you played with us were almost as devious as the mental hex of the Soul Devourer. It was nothing short of inspiring."
Changing Star paused.
"You can even easily turn truths into lies. How ... brilliant. I never even knew that such a thing was possible. Silly me. I didn't know a lot of things before I met you."
"So, you see ... while you were learning how to use a sword from me, I was learning how to use people from you. So please, Sunny, accept my sincere gratitude. I could not have wished for a better teacher. Without you, none of this would have been possible!"
"So where do you get the audacity to blame me for doing the same thing you do to everyone you ever meet?"
Sunny tried to insist that what he did was different , which actually was. Sunny was simply trying to keep secrets about himself , and protect everyone , not fool everyone to die for him.
"...I will gather those of us who remain alive and make a road of bones for the lucky few to reach the Gateway. That is my promise. That is the salvation I offer to the people of Dark City - a chance to return to the real world or die like a human should, standing tall and with a sword in their hand, instead of living in fear like a rat! I thought that you, of all people, would understand."
They talked about Gunlaug for a while , then went back to the topic. Sunny asked a question he most likely didn't want to hear the answer to.
"Don't you think that, maybe, he just wasn't willing to see hundreds of people die? All these young men and women living in the outer settlement and the Bright Castle ... how many of them are you ready to sacrifice to achieve your goal?"
He grew silent, afraid that her answer would confirm his suspicion.
Without pausing to think, she said, not a shadow of a doubt in her voice:
"All of them. Of course."
Nephis revealed her goal of wanting to destroy the spell , to perhaps avenge her family. However she simply said that she hates it.
Sunny left her with no words. He didn't seem to notice me when he passed by , however Nephis did.
"What are you doing here?"
I stared at the woman with a blank expression. Turning my back to her , I walked away.
My thoughts drifted to Sunny , his feelings were clear to me about Nephis. The way he looked so distraught and disappointed when he left Nephis explained it all.
It's almost cruel how humans crave love above all else, yet it is something that is bound to destroy eventually. Whether by divorce, unfaithfulness or death, it always ends in heartbreak.
***
At night , a young man with dark hair was carrying a corpse to a collapsed building. He threw the dead body into the ruins , no one would notice it.
Right now, hundreds of people were sleeping there, either in the pitiful hovels of the outer settlement or in the safe and warm rooms of the ancient stronghold.
...In the end, he just stood in the shadows and looked into the distance, at the tiny human enclave that persevered against all odds in the cursed nightmare of the Forgotten Shore like a lone glimmer of light.
After remaining motionless for a long time, Sunny quietly sighed, turned his back to it, and slowly walked into the darkness. However a young man with white long hair that draped over his shoulders was standing in his way.
***
I had imbued corrosive touch with my eyes , it gave me night-vision it sems. I looked at Sunny , black veins bulging around my eyes. Sunny was leaving..
Sunny stood there and looked at me with a sad expression. Then he started walking towards me , finally when he walked past me , I turned to look at him. I wanted to say many things , I wanted to make him realize that he wasn't alone , he had me. However.. no matter how much I tried to gather my thoughts and talk , only one pitiful word came out of my mouth.
"Stay,"
However Sunny did not , the bastard only gave me a smile and continued on his way. I watched as he disappeared into the darkness.
***
I got up late into the morning , I felt tired. My mind weighted with the images of Sunny's back. As I summoned Veil of Still Waters , my calming robes , I was somewhat calmer. I went outside to wash my face as I bent down.
When I got up to my feet , I saw that Nephis was walking towards me. I did not give her a greeting and was going to simply walk past her , however her voice stopped me.
"You know a secluded place? I want to walk about Sunny."
"You only start to care when he has finally left?"
"Levi... Please."
I scoffed , walking ahead and mentioning with my hand that she should follow me. I lead her to a secluded part of the slums , to a hillside I suppose. I looked down the hill , the dark sea was nowhere to be seen.
Suddenly , I felt killing intent emanate from my back and it was targeted towards me. As I immediately turned to warn Nephis , what I saw was not what I expecting. Nephis was already leaping towards me with her longsword in her hand. I immediately tried to put my arms on the way to block the thrust , but it was too late.
Nephis stared at me blankly as her longsword stabbed into my chest and pierced through my heart.