The girl looked on in surprise as two human figures emerged from the shadows.
The first was a teenager with dark blue hair and strange golden eyes, wearing a tattered and torn navy blue tunic in several places. She also noticed a disquieting smile of mild amusement on his face, yet the smile never reached his eyes. It was as if he was pretending.
Beside the boy was another, perhaps one or two years older, with blond hair and golden eyes, bronzed skin, and a powerful, muscular physique that screamed of a veteran warrior honed in hundreds of battles. However, his only garment was a kind of skirt made from feathers of some unknown beast.
'Weirdo and pervert,' thought the huntress.
"Humans? Huh... Unexpected," the huntress smiled and shook her head. "Ah, where are my manners?"
As she stood up, her white cloth tunic shifted slightly, revealing even more of her toned and powerful thighs.
---
Lumian looked at Effie: she was truly tall, standing over 5'11", and her appearance was that of an ancient Greek goddess. Or so Lumian thought.
The woman pointed to the fire. "Want to sit? It's a bit annoying to look down at you."
"Are you really human?" Lumian asked without thinking.
The girl blinked a couple of times before throwing her head back and laughing. "What else could I be? A horse?"
Lumian and Asael approached the fire and sat down; soon the huntress sat at the other end.
"Haven't seen you around here. Are you new?"
"Yes,we just arrived in this place," said Lumian. He decided to speak, as his companion didn't seem to be himself for some reason Lumian didn't know.
"And what's wrong with your friend?" the huntress pointed.
"Leave him, he'll come back to his senses in a moment," Lumian said with a shrug.
The huntress suddenly realized something. "Wait, you've survived for three whole months in the labyrinth?" she asked in surprise. "That's quite a feat. Congratulations."
Finally, Asael snapped out of his trance. "I'm Asael, n-nice to meet you!" he said nervously, his face slightly flushed.
'Well, well, this is interesting,' thought Lumian, and his feigned smile widened.
The huntress looked at Asael as if he were a strange creature.
"I'm Effie. Well, that's what people call me. I'm also a Sleeper," she introduced herself.
"I'm Lumian, and we arrived here on the winter solstice," he explained.
Effie nodded. "Well, welcome to hell, you two."
"Are there people living in the shining castle?" asked Asael.
"Indeed, there are people living in the castle. But I suggest you don't go if you don't have fragments."
"Why would that be?"
"First of all, let me tell you there's no door in this city. In fact, there's no way out of this labyrinth. I've been trapped here for two years. So... welcome to the city, and abandon all hope, and all that..."
Lumian nodded. Honestly, he already expected it; he was just playing this role to avoid raising suspicions from the start.
"We know that," said Asael. Lumian looked at his companion with a reproachful glance but finally sighed.
Effie blinked. "Really?"
"Yes, we know the history of how the Forgotten Shore came to be and its first castle lord," Lumian replied.
"Over a decade ago, a group of powerful and desperate Sleepers arrived in this city and claimed that castle for themselves, since it was the only place that kept them safe, at least for a time. Since then, more Sleepers have fallen here every winter solstice. And yes, the first lord died on an expedition to find the exit."
"How do you know all that?" Effie asked, surprised.
Lumian, without a word, summoned the Fragment of Dawn. The crown appeared in his hand, and he spun it casually on his index finger.
Effie's eyes widened at the sight of the memory.
"We found the remains of the first court, north of the Hollow Mountains, and obtained this fragment. We discovered the history behind this place, killed a Fallen to get another fragment, and well... we threw ourselves into hell until we got here," he summarized.
Effie's mouth hung open. "Is this a joke?"
"Do I look like I'm joking?" Lumian asked.
"No," the huntress shook her head. "That means you survived the depths of the Forgotten Shore for months, fighting indescribable horrors."
"Correct," Asael replied, regaining his usual confidence.
Effie was at a loss for words, looking at these two Sleepers who had survived more than 90% of the Forgotten Shore's survivors.
"Oh, and I know how to get out of this place," Lumian added. With that, Effie was completely dumbfounded.
---
When Effie regained her composure, Lumian stopped eating the meat and gave her a casual look.
"Oh, you're back. That took a full five minutes," he remarked.
"How do you know it was five minutes?" asked Asael.
"Counted them," Lumian shrugged, then looked at the huntress.
"You really know how to escape this place?"
"Yes," Lumian's reply was full of certainty. "However, I can't tell you unless you're willing to cooperate."
"What do you want?" Effie narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
Lumian feigned a mocking smile. "Oh, not much. Just information about this city and its current lord," he explained.
Effie sighed and said: "The Dark City is simultaneously the safest place on the Forgotten Shore and also the deadliest. It's safe because no sea monster can cross the wall, much less reach the castle. But at the same time, it's far more dangerous than the labyrinth because almost all creatures here are of the Fallen rank."
"That's not a problem," said Asael.
"Why would you say it's not a problem, exactly?"
"We've killed dozens of Fallen monsters on our journey through the labyrinth," said Asael.
Effie laughed as if she'd been told the best joke in the world. "Hey, stop with that kind of joke. Barely any Sleepers can hunt Awakened beasts and monsters, and that's only if they're strong or have useful Aspects. But killing Fallen? Ha, that's impossible!"
Lumian and Asael said nothing.
"Well, we're telling you the truth anyway. What about the shining castle and its lord?" Lumian asked. He then invoked a memory and tossed it to Effie, who caught it. "It's a memory of fresh water," he explained.
Effie nodded, taking large gulps of the fresh water like a thirsty beast. After almost a minute, she finally stopped drinking and seemed more energetic. "Thanks, it's been days since I had water this pure."
Lumian took the memory back and discarded it.
"Well, there's not much to say. Most can't enter the castle. The king demands his taxes, you know? So we're limited to waiting for death outside."
"The shining castle belongs to a man named Gunlaug. If you want to enter and live within the safety of the castle walls, protected and served by his hunters, you have to pay a tribute. One soul fragment per week."
"Let me guess: if you can't pay the tribute, you can't enter the shining castle, and those who can't manage it gather near the gates, barely surviving," said Asael.
Effie blinked like an owl. "Yes, that's correct. I'm surprised you guessed it."
"Let's just say I've been through something similar." Lumian looked at his adventure companion. He'd known him for over half a year, and this was the first time he'd heard him say such words. 'Maybe I should ask him more about his past,' Lumian thought, noting it on his mental agenda.
"I have a question for you: how many beasts have you killed?"
"Let's see... there was that swarm of locusts, the legion of scavengers..." Lumian murmured.
"Don't forget the Bloody Flower, the centipedes and worms," Asael added.
"Also those cursed skeletons, the bipeds from the dark sea."
"And those monkeys, the messenger..."
"Ah, also that time during the storm," said Lumian.
"I think a few thousand of them," Asael concluded matter-of-factly.
Effie stared at them, shifting from disbelief to total confusion. Her brain seemed to short-circuit. First, her mouth opened, then closed, she furrowed her brow, and finally massaged her temples as if she had a headache.
"So... you're saying you killed... thousands? THOUSANDS of creatures, including Fallen? In three months?" Effie let out a nervous, dry laugh. "Come on, that's... statistically impossible. Unless..." Suddenly, her expression changed. She remembered the Fragment of Dawn in Lumian's hand, their absolute calm, their physiques marked by countless barely visible scars under their torn clothes. A shiver ran down her spine. What if... it's not a joke?
Lumian just nibbled on another piece of meat, watching her with that enigmatic half-smile. Asael, for his part, nodded solemnly, as if they had been discussing the weather.
"You two..." Effie swallowed. "Are you... monsters in human form?"
"Next time we'll bring trophies," Lumian said, shrugging. "Or you can try attacking us to find out. Though I don't recommend it."
Effie raised her hands in a gesture of peace. "No, no, seeing that crown was enough. Just... let me process it. My common sense has been here for two years, and you two just kicked it off a cliff."
After that, Lumian continued asking a few more things, and then simply ate the monster meat, which tasted somewhat more decent than what he cooked in his archaic way.
After an hour, Effie, still with a look somewhere between fascination and fear, decided to escort them to the settlement outside the castle gates.