Things happened fast.
Master Pierce appeared to panic, immediately turning to the sentinels to give out orders.
"Lock the Citadel! Destroy the Gateway! We can't let it get away!"
The sentinels in the room nodded, and hurriedly got out, for the first time, desperation seemed to invade the Lost as they began summoning their weapons.
Nephis furrowed her brows, turning to Cassie, who was too calm for her own good. She looked at Pierce, wanting an explanation with her usual even voice.
"What's happening?"
The Master, who held a pleasant expression before in the presence of Changing Star, was now presenting an expression full of anger. All pretence of welcoming them was gone, and he now wanted them gone for making it go rampant.
"Do you have any idea what you have done?!"
The Master didn't bother to wait for the answer, instead, he approached and grabbed hers and Cassie's shoulder, leading them outside forcibly.
"Doesn't matter, I'll deal with you two later."
But Nephis wouldn't let that slide, her gray eyes flashed with anger as she was about to unleash her flames.
[Shadow]: "DON'T."
She hesitated, letting the Master pull her begrudgingly..
[Light]: "Why?"
[Shadow]: "Because as much as I think you can beat him, i'd rather not fight two elite Masters and a platoon of Awakened all at once."
Nephis paused, and analyzed her surroundings.
As she was being led through the upside down temple, she could finally see what Sunny had been seeing through his shadows.
Various of the Lost, summoning Memories, running through the Citadel, but what was striking was that they were desperate, worried…
She heard a scream resound into her ears.
A harrowing scream, one that a human did once he knew he had died, or suffered something worse.
The faces of the Lost got even darker, and so did Pierce's.
A woman with cascading red hair and leader armor appeared, a disciplined expression on her face as she hurriedly conversed with Master Pierce. Master Welthe, probably.
Nephis didn't care much, focusing on messaging Sunny as she continued being pulled with Cassie.
[Light]: "What happened?"
[Shadow]: "That mirror fragment must be connected to the prisoner of this place. Turns out this is a prison created to house only one person, he is dangerous enough for Pierce to dismiss his hospitality with you, possibly destroying your alliance with Valor. Not to mention destroying the Gateway."
A big sound invaded Nephis' ears as the Citadel trembled. A chill ran down her spine as she breathed slowly, understanding the situation.
[Light]: "Do you know who this prisoner is?"
A moment passed, as if Sunny hesitated.
[Shadow]: "In a way, yes. He was my teacher's first student. But I don't know if he'll be on our side, and if my teacher's contacts are right, he is no longer who he once was."
As their conversation ended, and after Pierce and Welthe had decided on what to do, Nephis and Cassie were led away by Awakened Lost into what they called a 'lesser cell'. The two, per Sunny's request, didn't resist.
Quickly going down some levels of stairs while five Lost accompanied them, Sunny decided to leave the comfort of Nephis' shadow and follow them by using the shadows of the Citadel, keeping the Creepy shadow with her. Having an idea of where they were going and what they will find there.
And, as he expected, Sunny watched as the sentinels opened the cell door and threw both of his friends into the dark room. Looking through the Creepy shadow he saw the cell light up in a blue hue coming from a rune circle.
'Hm, called it.'
Runic circle, using sorcery to take away the capability to use essence.
Sorcery was something Sunny tried to learn, but he was never that good at it, well, Lunae can try to teach him again.
Either way, it was time to kill the guards, get Nephis out of there soon so she doesn't nag him about being late, and know just what Cassie planned freeing Mordret. Not that he is complaining, saved him the time searching for the guy.
The majority of the sentinels had been relocated to fight the prisoner, but it seems looking Nephis and Cassie in had been a move to protect them, in a way, after all, why would there be two three guards in the the entrance of the cell?
'Maybe his Aspect is so strong they think only a runic circle can stop him, but then why not put runic circles all around the Citadel?'
Sunny breathed in.
'I'm thinking too much, the way Master Pierce and Welthe were looking, this seems like desperation more than anything, maybe they just assume Changing Star is their enemy and locked her up in case they are wrong. Well, if they put a Saint, two Masters and a hundred Awakened to guard the Prince, if someone appears with the thing he needs to escape… Makes sense.'
Sunny transported himself through the shadows and positioned behind the three Lost. They were in a triangle formation, with the back one supporting the other two.
He rose from the shadows and summoned the [Moonlight Shard] immediately wrapping Gloomy in it and piercing the Awakened's shadow, killing him instantly.
Before the other two reacted, Sunny let Serpent and Wraith out.
The wolf jumped from his owner's shadow, closing its jaws on the Lost's chest, tearing it right open and destroying his lungs as a consequence. While Serpent rose from below, the other Lost transformed into a creature with over twenty humanoid hands that grabbed his whole body, grappling him and crushing his neck.
No sound, no struggle, just pure efficiency.
[You have slain an Awakened human.]
[You have slain an Awakened human.]
[You have slain an Awakened human.]
Turning to the cell door, he summoned Igris, knowing full well the sentinels wouldn't leave the keys with the guards, so he empowered his Shadow with two Shadows and ordered her to take down the door.
And so Igris wound up a punch and struck the cell door with all the strength he had with his new power of a Demon.
The door went flying to the other side of the cell, guaranteeing the freedom of Nephis and Cassie.
Both girls left the cell with surprising calm.
"Took you long enough, thank you."
Nephis said while summoning her armor, it was a different one from the [Starlight Legion armor], this one was stronger, made up of a bleak, dull silver. Cassie also Summoned her own armor, covering her blind eyes while the feeling of being stared at by Sunny invaded her.
And that feeling got worse as Nephis joined him. Soon, even Sunny's Shadows turned to stare at her.
"What is it?"
"How do you know Mordret?"
Cassie turned her head into his direction for a moment. The sounds of Awakened screaming reached them as she found the right words.
"He helped us, I merely returned the favor"
Sunny sighed and approached the blind seer.
"You didn't answer my question."
She hesitated.
"Even I just discovered his existence today, and he is the son of Anvil, the student of the teacher I am closest to. So answer me Cassie, how do you know him?"
"... By the virtue of your sister."
Sunny sighed, of course it was Hel, the two must have been planning this whole day.
"Why do you talk as if he is an enemy?
He squinted his eyes at Cassie.
"Disregarding the fact you didn't tell us anything, the simple truth is: I don't know who he is, or what he became after years of being stuck here. Even my teacher said how he became strange even before being imprisoned by Valor."
Cassie sighed and turned her head to the side.
"What do you want from me?"
"I want to know why you saved him. I doubt it was because you cared."
The seer sighed, being forced to answer.
"He hates Valor. He is as strong as you two. And he knows about something I need. So I made a deal, I help him escape, then, he helps us in conquering the Second Nightmare and in the war against Valor."
It was Nephis' turn to question Cassie.
"Why do we need his help in the Second Nightmare?"
"A better question is why not tell us this?!"
Sunny's interjection made both women turn to him.
"If you had just told us, we wouldn't be having this conversation."
"If I had told you… Would you help him? Because you just said that you couldn't trust Mordret."
Sunny hesitated, and his flaw forced him to answer.
"I… Don't know."
One part of him wanted to help Mordret, his teacher's student, the one that was neglected by his own family…
The other part… Who knows what being raised by the Dreamspawn may turn you to… Something else. He was still hearing screams of agony coming from the rest of the Citadel after all.
"And that's the issue. Once you talk to him, you will understand."
Sunny sighed, pieching the bridge of his nose in frustration. He wanted to press her more, but there was no point, it was not the time for such things.
It helped that Nephis touched his shoulder in comfort. He turned to her, seeing her focused gray eyes.
"We need to move, Saint Cormac is coming soon, and if this Mordret is as dangerous as you say, he'll destroy this whole Citadel regardless if I'm here or not."
But Cassie shook her head.
"He won't be an issue. Focus on Masters."
The two Divine Lineage users looked at the seer in sheer tiredness at another plan that was not relayed to them.
"Do we even want to ask?"
"Don't look at me, your sister was the one who said not to tell you."
Sunny stared at Cassie for a good couple of seconds, then scoffed.
"You two really are similar."
He turned around, putting his hand on his neck and cracking it.
"Either way, time to help my damn classmate before he eats more than he can chew, that is, if he is eating that much at all."
Nephis crossed her arms and looked beyond the wall with her [Eyes of Creation], answering Sunny's rhetorical question.
"Doesn't seem like it."
Sunny hummed, sensing the shadows of the Lost Awakened slowly dying through his shadow sense.
"Well, I guess that leaves us time to get your things… And my book."
"Your book?"
Sunny turned to Nephis and furrowed his brows, proceeding to say in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Hell yeah my book! I've been looking for Shadow Empire for ages! It's my favorite book! I told Bin I didn't lose it, Rev must have taken it!"
Cassie stared at Sunny with her blind eyes baffled, in a situation like this, he was worried about a book? Surely Nephis would snap him out of…
"Grab them and meet us on the upper floor, you can take Shadow Empire, Lightslayer meant to give it back once I finish it, it's quite good actually. But remember, don't just push them onto the storage Memory, you must be careful to not ruffle the pages. Otherwise your sister will kill me. Also, make sure too…"
Cassie's eyes twitched, not only were the two careering about a bunch of books, but they were being strategic about it!
Nephis was even making gestures to show how they needed to be stacked, and Sunny had his hand on his chin, considering everything!
'Just how scary is Sunny's sister for them to worry about her books?'
Even Sunny's Shadows were paying attention, the Knight was with his hand on his faceplate and shaking his head, but he soon looked up and crossed his arms in something akin to interest. The Serpent, back in his original form, kept looking between the two humans with obvious interest, and the wolf… Was also paying attention to Nephis' speech with cute eyes.
Why would they care about this?! Especially while Mordret was making a massacre upstairs?! Do they simply not care…?
No… It's not that…
'Legacies… This is how you see things?'
Cassie's thoughts wandered back to something Death Singer said in one of their many conversations about the future, one where Cassie asked why the Saint always had such a crazed demeanor, why she always laughed at the face of death.
Why did she didn't care about war and such things.
"Why? Isn't it obvious? All my life has been about Death and War, why would I be fazed by it?"
Then, she remembered something important, Sunny and Nephis lived not only as carriers of the Nightmare Spell, but as the children of Great Clans. Both faced training since they were young, both were taught about survival, educated about war…
And most importantly, both faced assassination attempts by the hands of Valor. Both faced the Forgotten Shore head on, not caring about the difference in Ranks or about Devils or Terrors. Both carried the Lineage of Dead Gods, and Divine Aspects that shaped their souls.
They carry unspeakable power that will shape the world in unpredictable ways.
This kind of situation… Is what they know.
Fighting, murdering, leading, calculating, learning, strategizing, adapting.
This is their life…
So why wouldn't they care about something 'trivial' like books? Their enemy is currently being annihilated without them needing to be doing anything, they have no need to panic, no need to feel agitated.
And the Saint? Cassie herself said it was dealt with, so no need to rush.
Cassie paid attention to their conversation once more.
"Getting back to the matter, I'm going to keep watching Mordret, figure out what he is doing and the nature of the Aspect, from what I'm seeing, It's really powerful."
"Right, depending on his progress, we can flank the Valor forces and deal with the Masters from there…"
'Sunny… Neph…'
Now that she thought about it, they are so similar, yet so different…
Nephis was supposed to hate him.
Sunny was supposed to kill her.
And yet they…
Cassie remembered the first future Weaver's Lineage gave to her. The fight between the Heir of Death and the Heir of Fire…
Why was her future version so calm? No, it didn't matter, Cassie didn't want to see that again, she didn't want for her friends that clearly cared for one another to fight.
"Neph…?"
Both Sunless and Nephis turned to their friend.
"Do you really think going to Valor is the right choice? Do you really want to join them?"
The question surprised both Legacies. Sunny looked at Nephis, searching for her reaction.
Changing Star opened her mouth, but no word got out.
Eventually, after a couple of seconds, she answered.
"Let's finish the Second Nightmare, then I'll answer you."
Cassie nodded, then looked at Sunny, who had something akin to hope in his eyes…
But soon, he shook his head and took a deep breath.
"Alright, let's meet this Prince."
—
Minutes later, after Sunny went back to grab all the books and the storage Memory, he focused on the conflict on the Night Temple.
Through his shadows, Sunny could see a lot, but even him was having difficulty keeping up with Mordret's movements. The past Prince of Valor was simply too devious.
From what Sunny understood and what Cassie said about his power, he had a utility Aspect that allowed him to travel between reflective surfaces. But from what Sunny was seeing… It was much more than that.
Because every time a Lost looked at a reflective surface, something happened inside them, and they became someone else, they became the enemy, attacking their allies with an unnatural smile, the process continued, with the only constant being that only one Awakened turned on the others at a time.
It didn't take a genius to figure out that the Aspect of Mordret was something related to soul possession, especially after the Lost called their possessed companions 'abomination', as if referring to the Prince.
As things were, Mordret was seemingly picking up stragglers that were yet to regroup with the Masters and ones at the edges of the Night Temple. A sound strategy, regardless of how powerful Mordret seemingly was, there were still one hundred Awakened and two elite Masters of Valor for him to face, he couldn't just brute force everything, especially if he really was stuck in here for a decade without a body.
That is, if Sunny was understanding what was happening inside his mind, as far as he knew, the Prince was just doing mindless slaughter that just seemed like strategy.
Nevertheless, Sunny and his friends were in an unique position to help him, the cell where Valor put Nephis and Cassie in was rather close to the main hall where Masters Pierce and Wethe were entrenching themselves, their strategy seemed to be wait for the arrival of Saint Cormac that was soon returning from his expedition on the Hollow Mountains.
"What are you thinking?"
Nephis question prompted Sunny to smile.
"What else? While they are worried about their own reflection, they won't notice their shadow taking them down."
He summoned his trusted blade, [BloodRaven], and wrapped Gloomy on it, augmenting his odachi, doubling its power.
"Or a fire burning them from behind."
She raised her brow in interest.
"You want me to fight two Masters and a platoon of Awakened Lost head on?"
"Of course not, I want you to face them after I lull their forces by eliminating them. If we hope that Valor won't trace this back to us, we need to eliminate every single Awakened here, so I'll quickly take down all Lost that I can, then, you break in, chaos will start, and if this Mordret really is an Heir of War… He'll take advantage of it."
"Hm… Alright, but there are still too many Lost, around eighty."
"Right, that's why I'll use the Soul-Devouring tree to speed up the process."
Nephis and Cassie stared at Sunny humorlessly, not believing that he'll put something so big in the enclosed quarters of the Night Temple.
"What? It's an Ascended Terror, not a baby."
—
The body of a giant tree was summoned in the shadows of the upside-down Citadel, using its lowest level as the space where it would grow. Breaking the walls to fit completely and even then it melded into the shadows to not break even more of the place and not call attention.
The roots embedded themselves on the concrete and began to spread, searching for new hosts for enthrallment. They used the shadows to hide, blending in dark and making it extremely difficult for the sentinels of the Temple to notice them.
At least not before it was too late.
It didn't take long for the first few Awakened to be caught.
Enthralled by the beautiful roots of the tree, they were either good distractions for Sunny to finish off their allies, or good food for the tree.
Together with the Soul-Devouring Tree, Sunny was also moving, using his Shadow Sense to find each Lost and send one of his Shadows or himself to kill it. All the while the Soul-Devouring Tree draws more to his blade.
Sunny's Shadow Echoes were summoned from his shadow, as such, all six of his shadow helpers were a conduit for their summoning.
So to cover more ground and expand Tree's Territory even more, he let his Shadow Echoes be transported by his shadows.
Currently, there were four shadows moving through the lower levels and summoning either Saint, Igris, Wraith or Serpent upon encountering a Lost sentinel. The combination of their strength and a sneak attack made all of the Awakened quickly die upon the few seconds that the Shadows were summoned.
Igris and Saint overpowered their opponents without issue, Wraith mangled the Lost's limbs and Serpent devoured them in various ways with their versatile transformations.
Sunny also moved, using his blade to join in his Shadow's cruel offensive. His strikes were even faster, as none of the Lost had any protection over his attacks that targeted their shadow. He moves through the shadows and swiftly cut their shadow apart, they felt no pain, no suffering, they just died.
Soon, the Masters of Valor would be surrounded.
If Mordret began his massacre on the upper levels, Sunny began his on the lower. Hopefully, the Prince would notice, and continue to pressure the Valor forces on his side.
Then, the Heir of Shadow and the Heir of War would meet in the middle, where the Heir of Fire would already be facing the Knights of Valor.
'That is, if we can finish off all the stragglers before they meet up with the Masters.'
Sunny would need to be quick, as the sentinels already began to notice that they were facing something else along with the escaped prisoner. Trying to reach the Masters faster.
And so, Sunny continued to move, splitting his attention to order each shadow in who and how to assault, what form Serpent should take, where Saint and Igris should appear, where Wraith must strike.
A few were able to react, their instincts or Aspects caught Sunny in the middle of his strike or intercept his Shadows. But in truth, their experience mattered little in the face of the Divine Shadow and his soldiers.
When all remaining sentinels were finally able to come to the security of the Masters, more than half of them had been eliminated.
Thirty sentinels were in the main Temple hall with the Masters, barricading themselves to wait for Saint Cormac.
And there was still no sign from Mordret.
'Seems like Pierce and Welthe tried to stop him from killing more of the sentinels, but my involvement threw a wrench into things.'
Either way, it was Nephis' turn.
—
Pierce was gripping the bridge of his nose fiercely, not caring for any bruise that might come from doing so.
"You are telling me that there is something else aside from that thing?"
The sentinel in front of him nervously nodded.
"Our forces from the lower levels were wiped out, the survivors described as: 'A terrifying wraith'. It's not confirmed if it is a nightmare creature or an Awakened…"
"What about Changing Star? She was in the lower level."
The sentinel shook his head.
"There's no sign of her…"
Pierce sighed, he had tried to protect as many as he could when the abomination first appeared, going to the upper levels to deter its attacks as much as he could. But little did he know that most of his forces were already crumbling by the hands of something else.
What's worse was that it seemed that the intruder and the prisoner were working together, while the former destroyed his forces, the latter distracted him and Welthe.
The result was that they were decimated on both sides, and his attempts to gather all on the main hall to wait for Saint Cormac only resulted in thirty of his soldiers surviving.
And those that survived were obviously terrified, not only was the monster out and about, possibly possessing one of their dead comrade's body's, but there was another enemy that decimated more than half of our soldiers. Who could blame them for being terrified?
Turning to the sentinel again, he gave out the order.
"Lock up the back entrance, forget Immortal Flame, if she's alive, she already escaped."
The sentinel widened his eyes a little, but bowed, turning to go to the back entrance of the hall.
Welthe approached him, her weapon close.
"That girl must have brought that piece of glass by the order of Song."
Pierce sighed, sitting down and trying to calm down.
"You might be right…"
The Immortal Flame was already close with Clan Song, and it was known that one of the Raven Queen's confidants was the past instructor of the abomination, of course he would know of his student's fate. And with how close she was with the Queen of Worms son…
"We shouldn't have let her in."
Now they were dealing with the worse case scenario, having to cover every reflective surface to not let the abomination in.
A huge bang was heard coming from the main door.
All sentinels immediately turned to it, Memories summoned, weapons trembling, fear consuming them.
Another bang was heard…
And another…
And another…
The massive doors trembled again and again, trying to contain the massive force that was breaching it.
"On guard!"
Pierce barked while getting up and summoning his sword.
Tremors began to be felt as the doors slowly began to crumble.
Whatever was behind that door, would be their doom…
Pierce swallowed. Trying to maintain his composure so as to not bring even more fear on his soldiers…
Until the banging stopped.
Silence settled onto the hall as the doors stopped trembling. The banging stopped, as if whatever was attacking suddenly lost interest.
Welthe looked at Pierce.
"What do you think it was?"
He stared at the enormous doors for a few seconds before answering her.
"Whatever kille–"
Screams of agony were heard behind them.
Looking at each other, they saw the bewilderment and confusion coming from one another before turning to the origin of the screams.
White purging fire imploded on the back entrance of the hall.
Various sentinels were burned as a figure walked through the flames, controlling them to target the protectors of Valor.
Silver hair danced in the fire, gray eyes shined as she raised her weapon, a white, pristine blade that mirrored her flames, as if they were one in the same.
Pierce narrowed his eyes, understanding the enemy that he made.
Changing Star sharpened her gaze as sentinels snapped out of their daze and rushed towards her.
She showed no reaction as she flourished her longsword to face every attack that came her way. Utilizing a style of combat unpredictable and extremely adaptable.
With one swing, she parryed a blade of one attacker and struck the sword of another, dashing forward and forcing the two blades into a bind. Leaving the first attacker behind.
As she was about to ignite her Aspect once more, she felt her whole body get slower, weaker. Suddenly, the strength of a Awakened Terror wasn't the same anymore, letting her opponent catch her in her moment of instability and push her back
Looking to the side, she saw the culprit. Master Welthe was staring at Nephis, her eyes shone with a hypnotic scarlet light. The Master put a debilitating effect on Changing Star as Pierce moved in to face her.
More and more sentinels got up to rush at Nephis, intending to use the opportunity to kill her.
But she wasn't that weak.
Regardless of the debilitating effect, Nephis ignited her flames onto her sword, utilizing her Awakened Ability to control all fire that was already in the room to focus on her longsword, only on her longsword.
All the white flames that were on the hall quickly concentrated on the white blade. Then, she glared at the sentinel that had pushed her, and dashed forward.
Thrusting her sword directly at the his heart.
His attempts at blocking were futile as his sword melted away along with his armor and body.
With her sword piercing his body, not being able to contain them anymore, she unleashed the flames she had concentrated on her sword outward, making a wave of fire rush through the area behind the Lost sentinel she had just killed.
An area full of the very Awakened sentinel once called allies, burning them alive.
Nephis flicked her sword sideways, getting rid of the burnt body that was completely unrecognizable.
She turned to face the rest of the rest.
The Awakened were scared.
The Masters, surprised.
And Nephis raised her sword once more, the hypnotic gaze of Welthe still dawning on her, she decided to proceed, only this time, with help.
She grabbed a shard of glass from her pocket and threw it high into the air, reaching the middle of the room.
Pierce widened his eyes in absolute terror.
"No!"
His scream was meaningless, as the piece of reflective surface was already in the room.
A sharp sound of glass breaking filled the room as it hit the floor, shattering it completely.
Silence once again filled the room.
Torturous moments passed before Nephis sighed.
"So you are Mordret."
A chilling laugh echoed in the grand hall as the Valor knights looked behind to see a man who was once their friend, now smiling in absolute cold amusement.
The Awakened bowed respectfully towards Nephis, showing decor despite the cold grin in his face.
"Ah, Changing Star, a pleasure to finally talk to you! I've been dying to see your face personally…"
As the Awakened talked, the shadows appeared to grow deeper. A chill went through all of the sentinel's spines as shadows seemed to devour the light.
Roots made of obsidian armor pierced the walls and began enveloping the hall as the shadows poured more and more into the room.
The Awakened with the cold grin straightened and looked around curiously, he began to talk to the shadows, looking like a madman.
"And you… You must be the one that was watching me, right? I'll be honest, in the beginning, I was a little bothered that you were killing so many of them. You see, I been imprisoned here for so long, I wanted to be the one to kill them."
The shadows began to converge on one place, right in front of the main doors of the hall. A humanoid figure slowly raised himself from the shadows, wearing what appeared to be a black military uniform with silver garments, and a helmet completely engulfing his face, an almost invisible slit serving as a visor.
A crimson odachi on his hand, the figure completely emerged, and the possessed Awakened turned to meet him.
"But seeing as a Saint will soon come, I thank you for your assistance. How about we continue our cooperation, my friend?"
The shadow figure twitched his head, that mere action made all the remaining sentinels shiver as the shadows seemed to react and change as he moved.
But before the figure could respond, a loud voice interrupted the conversation.
"WAIT!"
It was Pierce, the Master looked terrified, panicked, yet you could see that he was still trying to maintain his cool.
"You… You are the son of the Raven Queen aren't you? The Hollow Death?!"
The figure shifted forward, and nodded.
Welthe seemed to take a step back, then looked back at Changing Star with a scrutinizing gaze.
But Pierce paid no mind as he tried desperately to not let fear consume him as he was facing three holders of Divine Lineages.
"Please, I beg you Lord Sunless, do not join arms with this abomination, he will bring unspeakable horrors on this world!"
The possessed Awakened seemed amused, so much so he turned back to the son of Song, awaiting his answer.
The Hollow Death seemed to sigh as he shook his head, looking down.
After a few moments, he looked back up, and a muffled voice filled with cold logic came out.
"Horrors for the world, or for Valor?"
The possessed Awakened smiled as he turned back to Master Pierce, whose face turned from surprise to anger as he raised his weapon.
"Well then, shall we start? Ah, for the record, you can call me Mordret, or the Prince of Nothing, if you prefer."
Hollow Death and Changing Star paused upon hearing this title, but decided not to question it.
And so, the remaining sentinels charged at the opponents that were closest to them, with Pierce charging at both the Prince of Nothing and of Song, while Welthe unleashed her Aspect at Changing Star once more.
But Sunny quickly stomped on the ground and ordered his Shadows out.
Saint and Igris appeared in front of the sentinels at each side, and Wraith regained its corporeal form from the Crazy shadow, who was just behind Nephis, giving her support against Welthe.
As they were about to clash, Sunny seconds away from entering the shadows…
The main doors were bursted down.
All paused as they turned to look at the light that invaded the hall.
Nephis, Valor's Masters, the sentinels, Mordret, even Sunny's Shadows seemed to feel a chill as a new figure entered the hall.
The figure's shadow loomed in the room, right behind Sunny.
Suddenly, the room seemed to be engulfed with fire, as the temperature seemed to rise in an unnatural way.
Sunny sensed bloodlust…
He tried to step into the shadows to protect himself, but it was too late, the pain of his own flesh being pierced by an armored hand was already consuming him.
He turned to look who was the culprit as dread consumed him.
He encountered dark, ruthless eyes staring at his own. He wore black armor that was battered and worn, barely holding together, he did not look impressive and neither was he wielding a terrifying weapon, but he felt powerful.
Sunny was too late, Saint Cormac had returned, and none of them, not Sunny, not Nephis, not even Mordret, could defeat a Saint.
Cormac threw the wounded body of Sunny to the side, not caring as it was ripped out from his hand and slumped to the side.
Sunny fell on the concrete and blood began to flow as his body tried to repair itself thanks to [The Blood's Shadow], but it was still a wound from a Saint.
Nephis' eyes widened in terror as she ignored everything and dashed towards Sunny.
Welthe tried to stop her using her hypnotic gaze, but the Shadow wolf didn't let her. Jumping onto the Master, he bit her arm and struggled against her.
The Shadow Saints were about to go to their master, but the remaining sentinels stood on their way, in a twist, they were the ones pressing the Shadows now, the sentinel's resolve now igniting now that Cormac was here.
The Saint in question now was glaring at Mordret, completely ignoring all the rest, even the Immortal Flame's girl as she was sliding through the ground to treat the Queen's spawn, unleashing her flames to do so.
Mordret took a step back, but still kept an uneasy smile as the Saint slowly walked to him.
Cormac raised his hand, threatening to–
A black sword pierced Cormac's shoulder.
The Saint let out a scream of pain as he looked at the weapon that destroyed his armor and flesh, his demeanor slowly changing… From anger, to astonishment.
The blade was dark, freshly forged, with flames burning inside the case.
"You…"
All present once again stared at the entrance, where another presence changed the room.
A sword made from blood and fire.
A forge that created over a thousand blades.
Sunny and Mordret widened their eyes as they witnessed their teacher summon his black blade forged by a Divine being.
Cormac took the blade out and tossed it to the side.
"Charon the Traitor… To think I would have the honour to kill you."
Undying Blade scoffed as he reached the hall and raised his sword at Cormac.
"You've always been arrogant, Cormac."