Sunless started by describing the general order of things in the ancient stronghold. He told Neph about the six different castes and the complex relationships that existed between them, as well as briefly explaining how the members of each caste lived their lives. Sometimes, Cassie would add a few details of her own.
Nephis frowned.
"Wait… did you say that there were five hundred people living in the castle?
Sunless gave her a nod.
"Yes, somewhere around that. Why?"
She thought for a bit, then said:
"That doesn't make sense. There are almost as many people here in the outer settlement, perhaps even more. That would put the human population of the Dark City at around a thousand. Most of them are fairly young, too — which would mean that each year, hundreds upon hundreds of us are sent to the Forgotten Shore, with most somehow managing to survive and reach the Bright Castle."
She paused.
"But I haven't seen a single Sleeper of our crop here in the slum. As far as I know, we three are the only ones to come to the Dark City after the recent solstice."
Sunless scratched the back of his head and said with reluctance:
"Actually, it's four. Caster is also here. He's living comfortably in the castle."
Nephis suddenly grew strangely animated.
"Caster of the Han Li clan? He is here?"
"Yeah. He had been here pretty much this entire time. Actually, Caster had told us that there were only seven Sleepers sent to the Forgotten Shore by the Spell this year. Strange, I know."
Lucien frowned, "That sounds wrong, its supposed to be in the hundreds."
Sunless nodded. "I noticed this discrepancy as well. But there is an explanation. You see, there seems to be a pattern to how many people the Spell sends here. Sixteen years ago, when a bunch of crazy humans first laid claim to the castle, there would be just a dozen or so newcomers each year. Then a few dozen. Then a hundred. In the past few years, it was several hundred each time."
Sunless gestured at the three of them. "Until this year, that is, when mere seven Sleepers arrived. Since the Spell is obsessed with the number seven, some people believe that this marks the end of a fifteen-year long cycle and the first year of a new one. I think it's plausible."
Changing Star thought for a bit, then asked:
"How does Caster know the total number of new arrivals?"
"There's an artisan with a scrying aspect. He probably asked her to check." Lucien said, he'd met the woman a few times, but they had never really talked.
Sunless nodded and continued explaining what he had learned in the castle. Most of it was information Lucien had already known, but every once in a while, Sunless would bring up something even he didn't know. Lucien couldn't help but wonder what exactly the pale boys aspect was that let him gather so much information in so little time.
Cassie grew pale and quiet during his somber account. Nephis' face grew darker and darker with each word. When he spoke about the travesty of a trial that ended with Jubei's harrowing death and shared his own thoughts on how powerful the Host truly was, the corners of her mouth turned downward.
Lucien couldn't help but be disappointed. Jubei couldn't even force Harus to use his aspect. A useless death.
Finally, Sunless came to the conclusion:
"...and that is why Gunlaug can never be defeated. He controls every facet of life here, both material and abstract. Food, shelter, hope, fear… everything comes under the purview of his authority, and his authority is absolute. Even power itself is his to give and take. Out here, Gunlaug might as well be considered a god."
Nephis remained silent for a long time, and then quietly said:
"He is not a god. He is just an impostor."
Sunny chuckled.
"In this hell… is there a difference?"
"Did you learn anything about Gunlaug himself?" Lucien asked impatiently.
Gunlaugs' control over the Dark City was common knowledge to him by now. He needed to know more about the man himself.
Sunless shivered and then said in a hoarse voice,
"His personal power is far more terrifying."
He stayed silent for a while before sighing.
"Do you remember how Effie told us that he might as well be considered immortal? Well, she wasn't wrong. Apart from the fact that Gunlaug has probably absorbed more Soul Essence and has more experience fighting both Nightmare Creature and Awakened than anyone else on the Forgotten Shore… there's more to him than that."
Nephis frowned. "Is his Aspect Ability uniquely powerful?"
Sunless shook his head. "His Aspect Ability is that he is able to breathe and move with incredible speed underwater. But it is connected to what I am about to tell you."
He hesitated.
"You see, Gunlaug came to the Dark City around eight years ago. Since his Ability was of no use in the ruins, he quickly became an outcast. From what I was able to learn, things were even darker in the Castle back then. Strength decided everything, and anyone without strength wasn't even considered to be human."
Lucien shivered; that had to be the worst few months of his life. He could not even leave the house for fear of death. His mother did everything she could at that time to keep him alive, but he could see fresh wounds every night. It was a miracle they survived that.
Sunless continued:
"But Gunlaug, he turned out to be mad even by those standards. Because he actually began to hunt in the dark sea."
Nephis blinked. "What?"
He nodded. "Yes. At dusk, he would dive from the city wall into the black water to scavenge the soul shards from the monsters of the Labyrinth that were crushed by the flood, racing against the approaching horrors of the depths. And at dawn, he would dive into the retreating sea to scavenge meat from the remains of creatures that the dwellers of the depths had killed and left behind."
Lucien frowned. That…was indeed madness. He had not known how exactly the man had become Bright Lord, but now he could see why.
Sunless took a deep breath. "And this is how he turned from a desperate outcast into the Bright Lord. One day, Gunlaug was pulled away by a current and, once the sea disappeared, stumbled onto a mortally wounded, dying leviathan. The creature was still alive, but just barely. Knowing that the carrion eaters of the Labyrinth will soon come to feast on it, Gunlaug began cutting the meat of the creature's bones with his knife."
He paused, then said in a strangely dark voice:
"By chance, the leviathan happened to die from its terrible wounds at that exact moment. And since Gunlaug's blade was the last thing to cut it, the Spell happened to attribute the kill to him. And that kill… that kill happened to give him a Memory. A wondrous golden armor that no human weapon can even scratch."
Sunless sighed. "With that armor, he returned to the Dark City, gathered a few supporters, killed everyone who stood in his way, and took control of the Castle. No one was able to threaten his reign ever since. And all those who tried… well. Their skulls are out there for everyone to see, swinging on chains above the gates of the castle."
Lucien cursed under his breath. That was not good news. For a moment, he entertained the possibility of his lightning being able to bypass the armour protections; it was made of metal after all. But memories rarely followed the laws of physics. Even if he became a Titan, would he be strong enough to beat Gunlaug?
No, he could not think like that. Gunlaug will die; he will make it so, no matter what.
"What traits does the armor possess?" Nephis asked.
Sunless shrugged. "Who knows? It's not like anyone who had the opportunity to learn that lived to tell the tale. The only thing widely known about the golden armor is that it is made out of some strange liquid metal and that it emanates a field of crushing psychic pressure. But even that is not entirely true. Actually, it only affects those who look at their reflection in the visor. Cassie wasn't affected at all."
Lucien closed his eyes and sighed. 'Goddammit! I can't even look at him when I fight him?'
He'd need to learn to fight blindfolded or acquire a memory that defended him against mind attacks. He opened his eyes to find Sunless glancing between him and Nephis. After a moment, Sunless said in a careful tone.
"So, what do you think?"
Nephis was quiet for a while, and Lucien was worried she was going to abandon the idea of killing Gunlaug. He wouldn't blame her, not after what they had just learned.
She glanced at him for a moment and said, "I have also learned something while you were gone."
Sunless frowned slightly, "Really? What is it?"
"There is a Gateway here, after all."
Stunned, he stared at her with wide eyes. Strangely, Cassie didn't seem surprised by that information. Lucien narrowed his eyes. The blind girl was perhaps the most mysterious of the three.
After a minute of silence, Sunless slowly said:
"Then why… why hasn't anyone left? Where is it?"
Nephis looked at the window, remained silent for a few moments, and then answered in a flat tone:
"Where do you think? It's in the Crimson Spire, of course.
Sunless sighed deeply at that. Of course, the damn Gateway just had to be in that damn spire!
"Don't get your hopes high." Lucien suddenly said, "It's guarded by a Fallen Terror."
Sunless's heart skipped a beat. A Fallen Terror, the Nightmare Creature one whole class above the dreaded tyrants, with six mighty soul cores providing it with profane power.
"So, going there is suicide."
After fighting side by side with Nephis for a week, Lucien had started to believe it possible to kill the Terror, especially if Sunless was nearly as strong as her. But he didn't dare give them that false hope.
Nephis sighed. "The first ruler of the Bright Castle led a large expedition to find a way out of the Labyrinth. They all perished. The second ruler — the last member of the original cohort — tried to reach the Gateway instead. They all died, too. After that, no one tried to find a way out anymore."
After that, they remained silent for a long time, their mood grim and somber. Lucien stared at his runes in silence. He was closing in on forming a third core.
Storm Cores: [2/7]
Storm Fragments: [1501/2000]
'Not enough, I need to awaken more cores.'
Sunless sighed and looked at Nephis.
"So…what's the plan?"
Nephis looked toward the door, a strange glint in her eyes as if she was looking beyond it, at the vista of the ruined city.
After a while, she said:
"We will create a hunting party."
He scratched the back of his head:
"Going into the Dark City blind will be very dangerous."
Nephis shrugged, then turned to face him. "You are right. We will need to recruit a pathfinder."
She glanced meaningfully at Lucien.
Lucien blinked once and said, "Me?"
"Yes." Nephis nodded.
"No," He shook his head, "I've taught you how to navigate the ruins, you don't need a pathfinder."
"We need an expert."
"..." Lucien stayed silent for a moment before sighing. "On one condition."
Sunless narrowed his eyes at him suspiciously. "What condition?"
"If you can get Effie to join you, then I'll come with her."
"Why would we want you to join us then. We only need one pathfinder."
Lucien shrugged. "Effie will only join you if I do. It's either both of us or none of us."
Actually, he had no idea if that last part was true. She could very well join them even without him, but they didn't need to know that.
Nephis nodded.
"Very well, we will go see her later. But first…"
She turned to Sunless, a strange gleam in her eyes.
"...Tell me every detail of what you have learned in the castle. Every name, every Aspect. Every Ability and Flaw you've been able to glean. Every grievance people have and every agenda they're hiding. I need to know it all."
Lucien perked up; that was important information he could not afford to miss.
Sunless smiled.
"Sure, no problem. But be warned, this is going to take a while. I've been very busy snooping around, you know."
Nephis gave him a nod.
"There's no hurry."