Leaving the mouth of the tunnel and the swirling white mist behind, the cohort cautiously went further into the darkness. As they walked, they summoned the Memories that produced light to illuminate the way.
The tunnel leading into the mine was wide and spacious. Despite the ruthless flow of time, it had remained in perfect condition — just like the ancient wall that surrounded the Dark City. The floor was inclined and led down, deep into the belly of the mountain.
Sunny sighed, not happy with the idea that they had to travel further into this deadly region of the Dream Realm. Who knew what horrors lived in the darkness at the roots of the Hollow Mountains? The only thing that consoled him was that, with some luck, the cohort wouldn't have to go too far.
They just had to find the remains of the doomed expedition that had disappeared somewhere down below. He wasn't entirely comfortable hoping that those people had died sooner rather than later, but they were dead either way.
What Sunny cared about the most was for him and his companions to not follow suit.
Walking at the back of the party, he glanced at the six people in front of him.
How did Changing Star's cohort stack against that of the First Lord? Were they weaker, stronger, or just about the same?
His brow furrowed.
Regarding Nephis herself, he doubted that the young man who had led a group of Sleepers to conquer the Bright Castle could have been more powerful or driven than her, at least not at the start. However, he had much more time to accumulate power and resources before venturing into the Hollow Mountains to find his death.
Fifteen years ago, when he had entered the Dream Realm and got stranded on the Forgotten Shore, things were much different from now. The Immortal Flame clan was yet to fall, for one. In fact, it was not long after Broken Sword, Neph's father, had become the first human to conquer the Third Nightmare and achieve the rank of Saint.
Would the world be different if the First Lord managed to find the way out and returned to reality? Yes, most likely. If the era of the Nightmare Spell had shown anything to humanity, it was that history was often changed by individuals, as opposed to events and invisible currents. The influence one extraordinary person could exert on history in a time of adversity was hard to deny.
From everything that Sunny knew about the First Lord, a man like him could have done a lot to improve the position humanity was in. What a shame that he had perished in this godforsaken hell, the story of his incredible deeds known only to a handful of people as unfortunate as him.
But how many were there of such brilliant youths, killed before their time by the Nightmare Spell?
In the end, history was not written by the best, but by those who survived.
Glancing at the people walking in front of him, Sunny couldn't help but think:
'How many of us will survive?'
Each member of the cohort was incredibly strong. Just like Nephis was at least an equal to the First Lord, her companions were most likely equal to his.
Because of Effie's light-hearted and carefree demeanor, it was easy to forget how fearsome of a warrior she was. The huntress had not survived three years of stalking monsters on the cursed streets of the Dark City by accident. Hundreds upon hundreds of vicious Nightmare Creatures fell by her hand.
Lucien was perhaps their strongest member yet, after Nephis. Born and raised on the forgotten shores, he had been moulded into a true weapon. And as a fellow Divine aspect wielder, he was a force to be reckoned with. With his speed and sheer destructive potential, Sunny would not want to face him in battle.
As much as Sunny hated to admit it, Caster was a true powerhouse among the Sleepers, too. His incredible Aspect Ability, outstanding skill, cold intelligence and the wide arsenal of inherited Memories made him a deadly threat to anyone foolish enough to become his enemy.
Kai was not as ferocious of a fighter as the core members of the cohort, but his ability to fly coupled with the mastery of the bow and the Ascended arrow that Sunny had sold him made him a real menace in a battle, too.
Cassie was not much of a fighter, but her gift was arguably more important than any combat Aspect Ability could ever be. Especially so on the Forgotten Shore, where inconceivable dangers lurked under each rock.
Then there was Sunny himself.
Sunny was, perhaps, the deadliest of them all. If he wanted to, he could have killed every member of the cohort twice over.
With the exception of Nephis and Lucien, of course. At least with Nephis, he'd know where she was coming from. But Lucien…
Now that he thought about it, who would come out on top if they fought? Would it be Nephis with her all-consuming flames and freakishly strong regeneration? Or would it be Lucien with his wild lightning and hypersonic speed?
Or would it be neither?
As they walked deeper into the mine, there were more tunnels forking away from the main one. The cohort turned a few times, choosing the path that led further down underground.
Soon, the walls surrounding them changed. More and more, they were decorated with the intricate stone carving that the inhabitants of the ancient city had loved so much.
Lucien, however, did not notice that. His focus was divided between his storm sense and the strange whispers that seemed to come from all around them. Dozens, maybe hundreds of voices were whispering through the walls. He could not make out the words they were saying; it was a foreign tongue unknown to him.
Strangely enough, no one else seemed to be able to hear them. Even when he asked Effie about it, all he received was a confused no.
Then something struck him. His new attribute [Retainer of Darkness] spoke of a call of the dark, telling him to give in to it.
Like hell he would.
Ignoring the whispers, Lucien treaded forward with the cohort. If 'the dark' wanted him that badly, it would have to come and snatch him away personally.
Some time later, they entered a wide circular hall. In the center of it, a dark chasm opened into the depths of the mountains.
Thousands of years ago, there were wooden ladders and platforms leading down the main shaft of the mine, as well as a system of ropes and pulleys to lower the miners and lift containers full of precious ores up. Of course, all of that had rotted and collapsed a long time ago.
With a sigh, Sunny glanced at Nephis and asked:
"We are climbing down, aren't we?"
Instead of answering, she simply summoned the golden rope and shrugged.
"Wait. At least give me some time to scout ahead and see if anything is waiting for us at the bottom of this thing."
"I don't sense anything down there," Lucien said, "But still, go ahead. I might've missed something."
Sunny nodded and sent his shadow downwards. A few minutes later, he summoned his wing memory and said:
"We can proceed. Be ready, though. Who knows what might happen?"
The golden rope had been thrown into the darkness. Lucien, Nephis, Effie, and Caster were already climbing down, while Kai hovered near them, ready to draw his bow should anything attack the cohort. Cassie was by his side, holding the Quiet Dancer in her hand.
Just like that, the cohort descended to the bottom of the ancient mine. Sunny was gliding down in a wide spiral, sometimes close enough to the wall of the well to touch it with his hand. He was slightly ahead of the rest of the group.
Despite the tension that permeated the air, in the end, nothing had attacked the group of descending humans. They discovered the reason for this unexpected respite at the bottom of the mine.
As the light from their lantern memories hit the floor, it shone upon the remains of a giant skeletal creature. It resembled a snake with hundreds of tiny claws growing from its belly and a terrifying, round maw.
Thankfully, it was already dead, killed by the first lord's cohort.
Soon, all of them were on the ground. Gathering around the giant worm, everyone had the same thought:
'Fighting that thing on the vertical wall of the well would have been a true nightmare.'
Not too far from the corpse of the abominable worm, they stumbled upon an abandoned campsite.
A makeshift firepit was built on the rock floor, with five large stones surrounding it for the humans to sit on. A bit further, a low barricade was constructed out of the rubble, protecting the camp from unwelcomed visitors
The lost expedition had definitely been here.
Since they had been walking, climbing and running for the better half of the day, the cohort decided to settle for the night and continue the search tomorrow.
Soon, the orange glow of a bonfire chased away the darkness.
It was a bit strange to relax and cook food in the same place where the First Lord and his companions had rested and prepared theirs all those years ago.
Although, it was difficult to relax when they knew what they had to face the next day.
The next day, the cohort ventured further into the tunnels of the ancient mine. No one could tell how deep underground they were exactly, but the feeling of countless tons of stone looming over their heads, ready to come crashing down and bury them under their terrible weight, was not a pleasant one.
They were in the belly of the mountains now.
After several hours of walking through narrow tunnels, a soft breeze blew past the cohort. Moments later, the sound of a distant rustle reached them.
The deeper they went into the darkness, the louder that rustle became, until finally turning into an easily discernible murmur of running water.
Soon, they reached the dark shore of a wide underground river.
The running water was black as ink, but not in the way that the waves of the cursed sea had been. There was no smell of salt in the air, either. Wisps of mist were rising above the surface of the subterranean river, swirling in the silent darkness.
It looked like a boundary of the Underworld.
There was a stone pillar built on the shore, and tied to it, a beautiful boat made of pale wood swayed gently on the cold black surface of the dark river.
This was the last secret about the fate of the lost expedition that Cassie had gleaned from her visions. But even then, the knowledge she had received was fragmented and incomplete.
All she could tell the members of the cohort was that, once they crossed the dark river and until reaching the next boundary, they had to keep their eyes closed at all cost, no matter what happened. No living thing could see what lay beyond these cold waters and remain... whole.
Cassie didn't really know herself what would happen if someone failed to follow that rule, but said that she had never felt more terror than in the short moment before the vision showing her the fate of the lost expedition had shattered and everything had grown dark.
For this portion of their expedition, Lucien decided to deactivate his storm sense. After all, strong nightmare creatures could sense when they were being watched. And if Cassie's visions were to be believed, which they were, then this one was perhaps the strongest yet. If it was even a nightmare creature that is.
Standing on the shore of the dark river, seven humans tied the golden rope around their waists. When everyone was ready, Nephis took out seven strips of cloth and a block of wax. Lighting a small white flame on her palm, she sighed and turned to Effie.
"You're first."
The huntress made a complicated face, but then obediently approached their leader.
What followed next looked simultaneously intimate and disturbing. Using her flames to melt the wax, Changing Star gently took Effie's face in her hands and, after the huntress shut her eyes tightly, sealed them with melted wax. Then, she tied the strip of cloth around Effie's head to hold it in place.
One after another, every member of the cohort went through the same procedure.
With all of them blind, their only guide was Sunny. Lucien did not know how the scrawny boy could guide them. No matter how many times he asked Nephis, she never told him.
At least for now, his life was in Sunny's hands.
Stumbling throughout the way, the cohort made their way to the boat, where Sunny helped them board it. Then he untied the rope holding it in place, and with the help of the oar, propelled the boat into the dark waters.
The deeper into the mist they sailed, the more it felt like they were leaving one world behind and entering another.
A much darker, much more ancient, much more terrifying world.
No one felt compelled to speak, so the silence was broken only by the murmur of rushing water and the creaking of the wooden oar.
After a while, the bottom of the boat scraped against a stone surface. Sunny jumped to the pier and tied the rope around the stone pillar. Then, he helped the others disembark.
Throughout it all, the eerie whispers never left Lucien, constantly buzzing in his ear.
Sunny tugged on the golden rope, and the cohort followed. A few seconds later, they disappeared into a tunnel, leaving the shore of the silent river behind.
As soon as Lucien stepped into the tunnel, something changed. The whispers grew louder, and their words started changing into something unmistakably familiar.
'Luuu…'
They whispered, as if learning to speak for the first time.
'Luuuciii…'
A shiver went down Lucien's spine as the words became clearer and clearer.
'Luuuciiieeennnnn…'