The siege of the Crimson Spire had begun.
Currently, Sunny was standing in the shadow of one of the siege engines, waiting for his turn to join the havoc. Not far from him was Cassie, standing resolutely with her face pointed towards the massive tower. Sunny could see her hands shaking subtly, even if her face betrayed no worry or agitation.
The heat, the scent of blood and sounds of slaughter permeated the air. Sunny could not see the frontline, but he could sense wave after wave of monstrous, powerful shadows surging at it, consumed by murderous frenzy. He could also sense the presence of Nephis; in the world of shadows, she had a distinct presence like that of a sun, forcing everything to orbit her.
Where her flames reached, shadows cowered, dancing sharply.
The roar of the flames, the screams of humans and nightmare creatures alike, and clamor of steel fused together into a deafening cacophony. Sunny looked up and saw Kai hovering above the army, letting loose one arrow after another. There were tiny specks in the sky as well, growing larger by the second: the winged messengers of the Crimson Spire were approaching.
In that moment, Cassie finally looked at Sunny.
"Now is the time", she said softly. "Don't die."
"Wouldn't think of it", Sunny grinned. He reached and patted Cassie's shoulder. "See you soon."
Then he was off.
Sunny's job was the most important one in the dreamer army. Nephis's might have been vital, stalling the abominations and preventing them from overwhelming the line of humans. But if Sunny could not finalize the plan and unleash the might of the sun upon the nightmare creatures, they would undoubtebly perish very soon. There was no room for mistakes…
Which was why Sunny did not make them.
With his elusiveness, small stature and knowledge of Shadow Dance he weaved his way between the fighters — first humans, then nightmare creatures. He was swift and his mind was clear. Both of his shadows were wrapped around him, magnifying his speed threefold. Thus, it was not long before only thing standing between him and the Spire was the water.
Which was something he had accounted for. Without missing a beat, Sunny summoned Saint. She would have been of much use in the defensive line as well, but after consulting Nephis, Sunny decided that he needed Saint to conclude his part of the battle as quickly as possible.
Saint did not ask questions — naturally — even if she was a bit perplexed by his request. Then again, as a master of battle, she might have also seen his intention immediately. She lowered her hands, forming a platform for Sunny. And as soon as his feet touched it —
Oh, crap!
Using Saint's hands as a springboard, Sunny flashed through the air like a bullet. The acceleration hit him like a ton of bricks as he streaked over the still lake in a split second.
I'm going to die!
In the last moment, he managed to summon the Dark Wing, slowing down his approach. Even then, Sunny crashed into the wall of the spire with force enough to break every bone of a mundane person. Luckily, he not only had two shadows augmenting him, but also Mantle of the Underworld protecting him.
Still, it hurt like hell.
Now, where is it…?
Despite the disorientation, Sunny was immediately on his feet, searching for the correct place. Seven severed heads guarding seven locks… Cassie's words from all the way at the start of their journey flickered to his mind. At this time, Sunny could not help but consider the end of Cassie's prophecy as well. It seemed to describe the future as it had been in their previous lives, not as it would play out today… But despite it all, Sunny was feeling a morbid intrigue.
He had a strange feeling, thinking how another version of him had stood in this exact spot — or would have stood, if the past and the future had not changed as they had. That version of him would have been full of resolve — ready to get out if this hell, not knowing what doom would await him… that he would become a slave…
Eventually, Sunny arrived at the right location. The solemn heads of the ancient heroes had turned towards the wall of the Crimson Spire — a wall so large it seemed to swallow the sky itself. On their other side was a cyclopean gate with seven locks embedded in it.
Sunny sighed and summoned Saint back. At the same time he commanded one of his shadows to reinforce his body, other to reinforce Midnight Shard.
Just like Nephis had said, a rain of crimson shards coalesced into twisted figures of seven heroes in front of him. The Knight, The Priestess, The Slayer…
"Come at me, you bastards!"
Sunny was not going to waste time. Every second was paid for in blood on the other side of the lake.
Sunny and Saint attacked at the same time. Saint was the first to make contact with the enemy, challenging the Priestess, the Builder and the Slayer at the same time. When she did, darkness nestling behind her back surged like a tide, forming two pairs of sharp swords. They collided with the weapons of the crimson golems without flinching.
Sunny was facing three opponents as well. Their attacks were fast and strong, powerful enough to obliterate most sleepers, even those in the Dreamer Army. Luckily, Sunny was not just a sleeper anymore — with Soul Serpent and his nascent ability to control essence, as well as his shadows, he wagered he'd do a good job fighting against an awakened. He wondered briefly how the battle between him and the Hero of his first nightmare — Auro of the Nine — would look like now.
His idle thoughts ended up almost costing his life, though. Builder's mace fell from the sky at the same time as the Knight almost impaled him with its sword. Sunny cursed and reeled back. He almost tripped on his feet and had to scramble to get away. The monsters were pursuing him visciously, and for a moment, Sunny felt overwhelmed.
After Sunny regained his balance, the fight seemed to be quite even. He managed to evade the attacks with swift footwork and understanding of his opponents, but was unable to break through or launch a decisive attack of his own. If he did, he would be immediately flanked and killed.
This is taking too long...
As if hearing his thought, Spell's voice suddenly thundered in his ear, threatening to break his concentration.
[You have slain an awakened…]
[You have slain…]
[Your shadow grows stronger…]
Perplexed, Sunny allowed himself a brief glance at Saint. She had defeated two of her opponents and was swiftly gaining ground against the last of them, the Slayer. That meant that the path towards the strongest and the most important of the coral golems was wide open.
The Lord…
Sunny had quickly realized why he was having trouble keeping up with the golems. It was because the Lord commanded his own, twisted version of the power of Dawn Shard. Just like Nephis's crown was able to elevate the awakened memories close to an ascended rank, the Lord could raise his minions close to a level of Fallen abominations.
That also meant that, if he fell, the other's would quickly follow.
Sunny left Saint to deal with the remaining golems and charged towards the end of the battlefield, where the menacing figure of the tallest of golems stood. The Lord had a shining piece of crimson coral on its forehead, making Sunny suddenly feel weak. In the next second, the monster was in front of him.
Its first strike was fast — blindingly fast. However, it still missed by hairs breath thanks to a nudge of essence that Sunny send to his feet at the right moment. Due to his essence being very limited — and hard to control on top of that — he could only use it during key moments of a fight.
The golem had no weapons, not that it needed any. Its punch would have gone through an alloy wall without too much trouble; Sunny's frail body would not put up much of a fight. Luckily, he was as elusive of a fighter as they got, always one step ahead of the enemy. While dogding and redirecting the attacks, Sunny subtly took notice of the way the Lord's shadow moved. He saw how its feet were positioned, which side it preferred, where it was strong and where it was weak.
As a result, he noticed the chance when it came.
Sunny had lured the golem into a trap. When it overextended, he managed to catch one of its arms between his own and his body, coming face to face with the Lord. Moonlight Shard manifested immediately in his hands as he thrust the stiletto forward, piercing the glowing piece of crimson on his opponents forehead.
With a blinding flash, the corrupted imitation of Dawn Shard was gone.
The battle was over, all that remained was cleaning things up.
It took barely half a minute for Sunny and Saint to brutalize the remaining golems. Saint had a couple of wounds, none of them particularly serious. Sunny was untouched.
When did I become so strong?
Really, it had happened all the way from the first moment he had met Nephis. From that day onward, he never stopped reaching for new heights, and with a help of his teacher, he managed to rise far above the rest, to a league of his own.
That being said, now was not a time to become prideful.
Sunny took a deep breath and summoned first of the Oath Keys.
*******
"Stand your ground! Make them bleed!"
"Kill anything that gets past me!"
The voices were nearly drowned in the cacophony of battle. Some of them belonged to Effie or Gunlaug. Some belonged to herself.
Nephis was currently in the same spot as previously. Directly behind her, serving as the vanguard of the army, were Effie, Seishan, Gunlaug and his lieutenants, Gemma and Teshai. They were fighting ferociously — they had been fighting ferociously for quite a while — yet they were still drowning. The monsters were just too numerous; they continued to hammer the defensive line without rest, not giving the human fighters a moment of peace.
Nephis had killed countless abominations. Their charred carcasses, broken bones and burnt flesh formed a macabre barricade in front of the Dreamer Army. She must have slaughtered a whole carapace legion at this point, and was swiftly nearing her next soul core. The problem was that the pain of forming a new core would decapacitate her for a while, leaving other champions of the army to fend for themselves.
Nephis was not particularly fond of Gunlaug or his men — for obvious reasons — but she didn't want to lose them. In her mind they were the difference between this life and the previous one, a silver lining for all the trouble she had gone through. They would greatly strengthen the humanity as a whole in the coming years if they survived; then, her regression wouldn't have been for nothing.
Gunlaug was fighting directly behind Nephis, on her left side. He was moving with ruthless precision, covering Nephis's side so that she did not have to face attacks from all directions. Golden monarch's armor didn't yet have a crack in it, but he must have been smouldering inside it because of Nephis's flames.
It was ironic, really, for them to help each other like this in the midst of battle. But in the end, it was always humans against corruption; that was the ultimate dividing line that made all the others meaningless.
Effie was on Nephis's right. She wielded both Zenith Shard and Dusk Shard and was perhaps only slightly less fearsome than Gunlaug. She, too, had grown immensely during their expedition, many hunts in the Dark City, as well as the sparring sessions with Sunny. With her physical advantage and Dawn Shard empowering her memories, it was difficult to believe she was just a sleeper. The ground under her feet was marred with scars and slick with blood, but she was laughing and shouting commands to others around her like a sport coach watching a game from the sidelines.
Together, they stood their ground and endured. One attack, one tide after another crashed into their bulwark, trying to push them back. Arrows rained from the sky together with blood — Kai was having his own battle against the Spire Messengers. At one point, one of the enormous winged terrors plummeted from above, crushing dozens of smaller nightmare creatures and making the ground shake.
Wind was picking up, blowing the heat of Nephis's flames over the battlefield. Black clouds were gathering on the horizon…
Storm is coming, she realized.
It meant that Sunny had almost accomplished his task.
Thunder rumbled in the distance and clouds rolled across the sky, heading for the Crimson Spire. Nephis fought her way to the carcass of the spire messenger and climbed atop it, looking at the base of the Spire. She could barely make out the seven heads guarding the gate inside; Sunny was too small for her to see.
But she could almost feel it… the force of the Dark Ses growing weaker, and at the same time more desperate, every time a new Key was inserted into a lock.
Any moment now…
Rain fell down and the water that had nestled quietly around the Spire started to rise. For a second, Nephis almost felt fear. It was a Great Titan after all…
But then her flames burnt the fear away, turning it into ash.
In the end, even a Great Titan would have to succumb to their will.
"Prepare to advance!" she shouted from the top of the messenger.
In the next second, the battlefield trembled.
In fact, the whole of the Forgotten Shore trembled, making it seem like the world was ending. The tremors traveled all the way from the Dark City to Hollow Mountains, from the Crimson Spire to the island of Soul Devourer. A blinding flash of sunlight pierced the heavy clouds, and with it, the water started to retreat.
"Follow me!"