Many collapsed houses were blackened by fire, with claw marks cut into the still-standing fragments of walls. Here and there, monstrous bones of ancient horrors protruded from the ground.
Two young men walked through the expansive city that lay in ruin.
"Wait," Sunny said.
"No." He stopped walking. "You're telling me — you can ascend without the Nightmares."
Leon nodded.
"The people from my First Nightmare. They did it without the Spell. Which means..." He exhaled slowly. "Which means the Spell wasn't always a thing. Before it existed, everyone who ascended did it the other way."
Sunny was baffled. This was never heard of anywhere. Ascension without the Nightmare Spell not only meant that there was a safer way, but also a guaranteed way to ascend.
Though, considering how Leon described it, it would take a lot of time and effort. But it also meant that hundreds, if not thousands of lives could be saved. After all, more than a thousand people died to their First Nightmares when they reach 16 years of age.
"That means," he said slowly, "thousands of lives. Everyone who ever died in a Nightmare, everyone who came out traumatized..."
"Yes."
"...could have been saved."
"Maybe."
Sunny stopped walking entirely. He stared into the distance without speaking for a while.
People who would not have to go through the horrors of the Nightmare Spell anymore. That sounded impossible. But that meant... Rain...
"Of course. It also means giving up the treasures the Spell gives you inside a Nightmare."
Sunny frowned slightly.
Leon's argument was irrefutable. Although it would be much safer to ascend without the Spell, it also means that all the hidden history, treasures, and even the Memories they could get from the Nightmare would be absent.
It was like a double-edged sword. Or perhaps a broken one.
Sunny sighed.
"But doesn't that mean we could awaken? Heck, we could try awakening all the Sleepers here."
As they walked through the dark city again, a group of Awakened Beasts sensed their presence.
"True, but..."
Leon paused. He knew Sunny's theory was sound, but also a delusion.
"Awakening naturally takes a long time. Perhaps two years or more."
Sensing the upcoming horde, the two summoned their blades and prepared for battle. "It also means giving away the secret to natural ascension to hundreds and thousands of random people."
The Awakened Beasts were closing in with every second, and yet no sign of fear or nervousness was seen on these young men.
"But there is also the pattern I observed here."
Their blades whistled through the air, digging into the flesh of the Nightmare Creatures.
"Every solstice, there was a pattern of people being summoned. Caster's latest count was seven. Which means before it was 14, and the very first time it was seven."
Leon spoke while he was skillfully evading the grasp of the horrid creatures in front of him.
Even Sunny was barely having an inconvenience, as he danced through the horde.
"Which means this was the last cycle possibly. Or perhaps it was the beginning of a new one."
Leon nodded as he took care of the very last creature.
"Right. So there's no telling if something happens next solstice."
Sunny exhaled slowly as he scratched his head.
"So why even bother telling me how to awaken naturally?"
After pulling out the soul shards from the beasts with a small smile on his face, Leon spoke.
"Because we will awaken."
Sunny slowly grinned. Essence was a game-changer to sleepers. Even if they could harness just a tiny sprinkle of it — at tiny bursts, they could augment you nearly two times. That was like having a free shadow wrapped around you!
"So we try," Sunny said, pulling a soul shard. "Just us."
"Just us."
Sunny looked down at the shard. "And we don't tell anyone."
"Nope."
Was this greedy and selfish? Yes.
Did Leon care? No.
It just wasn't time for this knowledge to go public yet, and both of them knew it.
As the sun began to rise, they watched the shadow of the crimson spire in the distance.
"So when do we start?"
Sunny asked as he pulled out the midnight shard from one of the monsters.
***
A week had passed since both Sunny and Leon began training their essence.
After trying to feel their essence through their body, and trying to circulate it through their veins and muscles, Sunny had finally managed to succeed, albeit a small amount.
He had managed to channel a tiny bit of essence through his arms.
Leon however, could not achieve it at all.
Even after a week, nothing.
"This guy is actually a genius."
Noah said, as he watched Sunny jump around with excitement.
"Don't."
"I'm just making an observation."
Leon groaned.
"Bastard, how the hell did you even do it?"
Sunny shrugged.
"Sometimes Leon, you need this thing called talent."
His eyes twitched as he saw Sunny's cocky smile.
Sunny, had managed it in seven days, and was now jumping to test the results.
It was fine.
It was completely fine.
Leon clenched his fists.
'Can't saturate my soul core fast enough... Can't unlock essence anytime soon...'
Leon knew he had to think of a way to get stronger. But how? He's kept saying this since the damn tree incident, yet he's made no efforts to improve.
Sunny's smile slowly faded. "I had this dream last night, by the way."
Noah smiled. "And so it begins."
After Sunny explained his dream of a woman dancing in the shadows, he tried to mimic her dance a little.
But after countless attempts, he failed to replicate it at her level. But one thing Sunny had noticed was that the dance felt like a shadow — a shadowing of another battle style.
"So you want to try shadowing others' fighting styles?"
Leon asked as he gulped down on the endless spring.
Sunny nodded. "Perhaps that could help. Who better to ask than the plagia— I mean.. copycat." He said with a sheepish smile.
Leon tossed the glass bottle to Sunny with a look of disdain on his face.
"Well, you've come to the perfect person for that."
And so Leon began teaching Sunny the numerous styles he had managed to observe and copy. The main one being Changing Star's and Aurelia's.
Due to his Gaze of Unmaking, Leon had constantly seen others fight, and with some sloppy attempts, he had managed to copy most, if not all of them.
Of course, he never used so many of them at the same time, simply because his body or mind couldn't keep up yet. But perhaps once he was awakened, he could try combining them.
"That," Leon said, "is not what I just did."
"No," Sunny said. His gaze was lost, contemplating something. "That was better."
Sunny went back to practicing the style he had learned again.
Leon just stood there. He looked down at his blade.
'He's even surpassing me in skill...'
***
Leon wanted to go to the Bright Castle territory, so that he could have some influence in the upcoming battle for the throne. If he wanted to make sure Nephis didn't win, he had to have some backing of his own, that wasn't just his Echoes or Sunny.
Problem was, he did not know where to start. Even though after days of observation, he had managed to figure out most of the inner workings of the castle hierarchy, it was rather puzzling to actually insert himself into this pyramid scheme.
Rather than waiting around, he went directly to his first target, and perhaps the one he was dying to meet.
Song Seishan.
One fine day, the princess of the Song clan was in her room, going through some documents, when she suddenly sensed the presence of another.
Rising to her feet, she prepared to clash with the stranger.
"Greetings." Leon said as his voice trailed through the room. But he soon realized his mistake, again.
He could still remember the last time he had begun introductions like this. He nearly killed the best pathfinder on the Forgotten Shore because of that.
"It is rude to barge into a young maiden's room like this, no?"
Seishan spoke, as her gaze locked onto the position Leon was at. She could sense him — or rather, the lack of presence in the rough area he stood.
He smiled, while removing the hood of his cloak.
'At least she's more civilized.'
A young man with white hair stood there in front of her. One of his eyes was covered with a black colored eyepatch, looking like it was made of black raven feathers.
"You might not know me but—"
Seishan coughed.
"Are you simply pretending to be humble? Mad Scythe."
Leon froze. The smile on his face faltered.
"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"
She raised an eyebrow.
"Are you pretending to be—"
He waved his hand.
"No, no. The name! They're still calling me that?"
Seishan straightened her back as she stared at Leon. Her hand slowly went for a dagger under the table.
"Mad Scythe. Your endeavours are well known. Challenging Harus and defeating him. Clashing with Changing Star head-to-head and almost defeating her."
Her hand gripped the blade tightly as she smiled.
"It is a pleasure meeting you."
Leon smiled.
"I can see that you are wary of me, Miss Seishan."
He narrowed his eyes into a sharp gaze.
"I'd expect nothing less from the princess of the Song clan."
Seishan's eyes narrowed, but the grip on her blade didn't falter.
"You are quite knowledgeable, Mad Scythe."
"Please, call me Leonar."
He said while taking a seat right in front of her, across the desk.
Seishan too, took a seat, still wary of the intruder. Her hand was still near the dagger.
"I will consider it."
Leon's expression grew darker. He summoned the Codex of the Insatiable, the spine of the book resting on his palm.
"I won't drag this, Seishan. There is something important I must show you."
But Seishan had already frozen the moment she noticed that book.
"You—" She paused.
"How."
Leon placed the book on the table, and slowly slid it across the desk.
"I'll explain everything in a moment. Read it first."
Seishan slowly raised her trembling hand, and reached for the book. She slowly opened the pages, and began reading Sera's diary.
Leon slowly stood up, and walked toward the door.
"I'll give you ten minutes," he said softly, and walked out the door.
Outside Seishan's room, Leon stood there as countless Handmaidens walked past him — oblivious to his presence.
After trying to manipulate his shadow around for a while, he slowly took a deep breath, and entered the room once again.
Seishan sat there, completely still. Her gaze was fixed upon the book that was lying down in front of her. Leon slowly approached the table, and took a seat.
He reached across the table and held out his hand. Seishan was confused at first, but hesitantly took his arm. He transferred the Ordinary Glass Bottle to her, and withdrew his arm.
Seishan stared ahead of her, possibly reading into her runes. She clenched her fists. Her face was completely expressionless, but he could tell.
Her eyes twitched, almost unnoticeably. Her eyes were slightly reddened and watery. Her eyes showed grief... unimaginable amounts of grief.
Leon took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry I wasn't faster... to meet her."
Seishan slowly lifted her gaze and looked at Leon.
"Her last words were..."
—I always saw her as my sister—
Seishan closed her eyes.
"I would give you more time," he said gently. "But there isn't any to give."
She opened her eyes, slower this time.
"Tell me, Leonar. What do you want."
Leon smiled slowly.
"Please, call me Leon. But tell me Seishan, would you like to get out of the Forgotten Shore?"
***
Leon stood on top of one of the castle walls. He was looking down at the sight of the bright castle.
Convincing her was not easy... is what he would've liked to say.
But Seishan had become much more reasonable after that. Not too much, but enough to begin supporting him instead of Gunlaug, or Nephis.
He had prepared a whole speech to convince her.
Kido would be handled by Seishan in the future. But then there was Gemma. Leon did not know much about the man except that he supported Kido secretly. Tessai would be a problem, but the bigger problem would be Harus.
But the Leon wasn't here for sightseeing. He knew that he needed to influence the Bright Castle somehow. Either by convincing people, or the easiest route.
Fear.
"Man, that blind girl in Changing Star's party is so fine."
Leon's eyes twitched. He was half-expecting the men approaching him, and also not sure if they would show up.
Turning to his side, he saw two guards walking over the walls, possibly patrolling.
"I know dude, if only I could lay my hands on her just one time. Those soft—"
The next moment however, they were instantly thrown off the wall.
Before they even had time to scream, a large bird grabbed them and flew away.
***
Birdie flew to one of the ruined buildings in the dark city, with Birdie holding the two men in its cold grasp.
He got off of Birdie, slowly making his presence known. He really did not need to try, as his emotions were already flaring up.
The two men were screaming for mercy as Leon approached them.
"Tell me, men. What were you talking about earlier?"
One of them grunted.
"Please Mad Scythe, we swear we'll never look at another woman in the eye."
The other also pitched in.
"We were simply joking, we swear we never had any ill intent."
Leon exhaled slowly. He then formed the halo into a dagger.
"You know, I actually wasn't there randomly."
Putting the dagger up to their throat, he continued.
"Tell me, men. Do you remember the hunting expedition you had gone to last week?"
The two men visibly froze, their faces pale.
Leon chuckled softly. His tone was soft and encouraging, which felt even more terrifying. "Perhaps not. Let me remind you."
"You were in the hunters group. Such brave brave men. You went on a hunting expedition, with just one other woman."
His gaze grew cold. "Do enlighten me. How does one, frail pathfinder, help in a hunt?"
Their mouths shook slightly. One of them swallowed, and spoke in a shaky voice.
"We... We were just going for a small hunt. It was just an Awakened Beast."
Leon straightened his back. He tapped his palms, the dagger still clutched in one of them. "But of course! You went on a small hunt. One that was supposedly off the records, and no one knew about?"
He had all the proof he needed. But the biggest proof of them all was their eyes.
Fear. The one emotion he could never feel.
Anger. Something that he was feeling right now, perhaps ten times more.
Regret. Possibly because they chose the worst possible time to patrol.
But no guilt. Not even the smallest traces of guilt.
He grimaced in anger. "She was then, gone missing, never to be found."
The two guards in front of him weren't regular ones. Even though their status was castle guards, they would regularly go on 'hunts', arranged solely by them, picking members they chose.
They were supported by Tessai directly, giving them a larger influence. Their abilities itself was nothing to scoff at, yet they were too afraid to use them.
Why? Because the Mad Scythe had defeated Harus himself, how could they possibly compare to him?
As Birdie got tired of hovering over the air, it dropped the two onto the ground, and pinned them down with their backs facing down.
"P-please Mad Scythe, show us mercy!"
"Tessai... Tessai won't be happy with this Mad Scythe!"
Leon kneeled down.
"R-Really?" his voice was shaky.
The man smirked slowly.
"Yes! Tessai supports us directly. H-he wouldn't be h—"
Leon stabbed one of his eyes. His screams echoed throughout the dark city.
His blade moved swiftly, claiming the eyes of the other person. Both of them. But Leon still let one of the men keep one eye.
As they screamed in pain, Leon used the Crown of Ember to make sure that they wouldn't bleed to death.
Wiping the blood off his dagger, he softly said.
"Good luck getting out of the dark city, guys."
He then smiled as Birdie released them.
"Now you'll know what it's like to be blind, since you were so intent on putting your hands on one."
He jumped over Birdie.
"Of course, I've left one of you with one eye, that should help right?"
"You!... You monster! How could you do this? I can't see!"
Leon smiled darkly.
"I missed the part where that's my problem."
Birdie flapped its wings, abandoning them in the maze of the dark city.
Even experienced pathfinders would normally find it difficult to survive here. These two men were mere guards, not even hunters who constantly ventured out.
One of them was blind and the other was nearly crippled.
Survival was nearly impossible.
On top of Birdie, Leon stared ahead, his gaze cold and unfaltering, just like his will.
Noah was beside him. His arms crossed, staring intently at Leon.
"Was that really necessary?"
Leon didn't speak.
***
As he was flying back, he noticed Sunny running through the dark city behind him.
Well technically, he didn't notice Sunny himself, since the treacherous shadow would be absorbed into the embrace of the dark shadows around him.
He noticed his Trace, Lyka. Flying down, he eventually dropped down beside them.
Sunny slid to a stop, as did the wolf.
"Where are you going?"
Sunny exhaled slowly.
"I saw a bunch of knights around here the other day."
He smiled.
"With essence, I think I can take them on."
As they travelled toward the knights, they noticed a group of creatures, clad in black armor, fighting against another group of monsters.
They stopped to observe them. Since Leon was undetectable due to his cloak, and Sunny was invisible in the shadows, no one noticed them.
The stone saints, were simply ruthless with their fight. Leon noted they were Awakened Monsters, while the foes they fought were Fallen Beasts.
Their coordination was simply beautiful. It was as though the stone knights were masters in their skill, without the slightest bit of fear.
The stalwart stone warriors were also disciplined, proficient in the use of weapons, and utterly deadly. They were able to perfectly coordinate their movements, using strategy and tactics to silently overwhelm opponents whose power far surpassed their own.
Leon felt something stir in his chest. He felt a sort of admiration toward the knights.
"Still think you can take them?"
Sunny smiled hesitantly. "Maybe let's wait a little more."
As they turned to return, the last of the Fallen Beasts were killed by the stone knights.
While travelling back, Sunny spoke:
"By the way, I was scouting out places to buy good Memories since we have an excess of soul shards, and I met this interesting guy."
He turned toward Leon. "He could be useful to us. His flaw is well... interesting."
Leon raised an eyebrow. "Who is this guy?"
Sunny glanced around the desolate ruins, scouting for monsters ahead as they were sprinting.
"His name is Kai."