Chapter 29: Chapter 29: Terror
Third POV:
Everyone knew it instantly. The fact that the terrible psychic aura that was pressing them to the ground had suddenly disappeared only meant one thing and one thing only.
Knowing what was about to come, Sunny glanced at the far end of the great hall one last time.
A corpse in golden armor was sitting on the throne, a beautiful red blossom appearing from the crack in his polished mask.
A few moments later, the armor shined with white light and then disintegrated into countless sparks, revealing the man who had ruled this cursed place for many years with an iron fist.
Gunlaug was handsome, which surprised most of the onlookers. Even though his face was covered in blood, it was easy to tell. He had a short beard and long blond hair. One of his eyes was gone, eaten through by the Blood Flower, and the other was quickly turning glassy.
What surprised them the most, though, was how young he looked. It was hard to imagine the Bright Lord as anything but powerful and ageless, but in fact, he was no older than twenty-seven.
Sunny didn't waste too much time thinking about that, though. The psychic aura that the Bright Lord used to emit had disappeared along with his Transcendent echo, as the inhabitants of the Bright Castle finally managed to breathe freely.
Unfortunately, though, they soon choked on nothing but air. As a dreadful and suffocating pressure made their knees buckle.
Everyone's eyes were naturally drawn toward the short-statured figure in the middle of the hall. The way he stood beside the leader of the outer settlement had drawn an unsettling image on the minds of those looking.
The Bright Lord and his Butcher were the pinnacle of strength among the Sleepers of the Forgotten Shore. It was a natural result after monopolizing all the resources of the dark city for all those years.
Yet, he calmly stood there, as the shadow of a worried smile played on his lips. To them, it seemed as if he was completely disregarding the puddle of blood he spilled in his wake. And the fact that his right hand still hung beside him clutching the crushed heart of his enemy only made him appear much more terrifying.
Changing Star's previous Angel-like appearance had overlapped with her current image, despite her not radiating much, she became a symbol of hope in the eyes of her people.
As for Sunny, he appeared much more terrifying as it is. The stark contrast between the two only pronounced their characteristics and made their differences speak for themselves.
In their eyes, Nephis was the star of change and the Angel of hope.
If they previously adored and respected her, then now, they straight-up worshiped her.
As for Sunny.....
He was a completely different story.
Aiko gulped among the crowd, Her gaze drifting back and forth between the raven-haired boy and the silver-haired girl. Her gaze soon turned to the other side to find her friend Night making his way through the crowd with huntress Athena and a petite blonde girl following behind. The latter was simply being dragged by the former two who seemed to rush toward their leader, while the blonde girl simply allowed them to do so with seemingly vacant eyes.
Aiko knew who they were of course. All of them were the talk of the castle and were known as Lady Changing Star's cohort for the past couple of months.
Yet there was one whom they knew nothing about.
In fact, it was almost unknown if he was a true member of the cohort or simply a scout they met along the way.
Sleeper Sunless.
Due to the nature of her work in the castle, Aiko already guessed that Sleeper Sunless might actually be one of the very first core members of the infamous Cohort.
Aiko was aware of her lack of strength more than anyone else, no matter how much she hated being the owner of a stinky Gambling den, she strived to do what she knew best. Since it was her only way to survive in this harsh nightmare.
She wanted to survive this nightmare and return to her family no matter what.
So, she made use of her situation. Through Her Gambling den, Aiko gained access to numerous information about the outer settlement even though she had never set foot outside of the Bright Castle.
As the days ticked by she heard all types of stories and news as she slowly built up her reputation inside the Castle and made friends with the likes of Stev and Kai. Although Her establishment was popular among the members of the Host, it was also the reason why many of them harbored resentment toward her.
But that resentment soon vanished or rather became directed toward someone else. Soon everything changed when the heiress of the Immortal Flame Clan knocked on the doors of the Bright Castle.
By now, The fact that Lady Changing Star of the Immortal Flame Clan hadn't made it to the Dark City alone was forgotten and buried by the sheer weight of her deeds and achievements at the outer settlement.
Only a few people —herself included— could make the correct connection between Changing Star and the individual beside her who had just shaken the Castle to its core.
Nothing was pretty much known about Sleeper Sunless. In fact, his presence was faint and barely noticeable even in his early days at the Bright Castle. Even that was only due to Lady Changing Star's overwhelming reputation, people couldn't help but throw a glance in his direction and notice him.
Well, aside from the occasional rumors of him being a dead weight That Changing Star had carried to the Dark Castle. Or the ones about him living with the Nightmare Creatures in the Dark City due to him going mad out of despair. Nothing past that was known. So his story was quick to be forgotten.
But now.
They couldn't help but wonder.
Was he always this strong? Why did he hide his power in the first place?
Unfortunately....only he Could answer those questions.
To her, Sleeper Sunless was very mysterious.
He was a wild card.
And His recent display of power had only made her impression of him more pronounced.
Soon enough, her eyes slowly slid off Sunny's Back and turned toward the pale handsome face of her friend, Night.
Aiko was worried about her Friend. She couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor soul.
'Just what kind of a mad devil have you got yourself involved with Night!'
She screamed inwardly. For whatever reason, it seemed like her worries for Kai had grown so much that it completely suppressed her fear. It was as if the current situation had little to no effect on her at all
How odd…
***
Unlike before, the commotion that was caused by Tessai after the Bright Lord's death hasn't occurred yet. And as it seems, Harus' death had played a major role in delaying that event.
Unlike before, now everyone knew who killed the fearsome butcher, and it was evident that the one who did so didn't even break a sweat.
For the residents of the Bright Castle Harus was the embodiment of fear and death, even for the other lieutenants it was no different.
The reason they feared him was the fact it would only take a single command from their —now deceased— Lord and they would not live long enough to see the dawn of the next day.
Harus was such a figure that was equally feared by the lieutenants and the inhabitants of the Bright Castle.
But how would they react if such a powerful figure was publicly executed without even putting up a fight?
Right now, for Those poor Sleepers, The cold grip of death never felt so close to their hearts.
With his hand aiding the small of her back, Sunny asked Nephis in a voice only audible to her:
"Are You alright?"
Nephis was heavily panting, her breath shallow. As Her fist was clutched against her breastplate, her sweat glistened under the rays of sunlight that made its way through the window.
The amount of Soul Fragments she must have taken from Gunlaug wasn't enough to fill the fragments needed to form her fourth core obviously, but it was an excessive amount nonetheless.
The battle itself wasn't an easy one for her as well, so it was only understandable if the accumulated fatigue from her fight and their journey had finally caught up to her.
Still, she seemed quite content with her achievement.
Sparing him a glance, Nephis looked behind him toward the lifeless corpse of the Hunched hitman and back to his bloodied hand that was still dripping with blood, her eyes soon swept through his body and trailed back to his face.
She seemed to be sizing up his injuries but once she found him unscathed, she let out a shaky breath. Seemingly relieved.
In an attempt to loosen the tension she tried to say something but it only came out as a dry bloodied cough.
Once she calmed, Nephis replied. A faint hint of sarcasm in her voice.
"Before or after...I catch...my breath?"
Sunny's eyebrows rose. He noticed the faint sarcasm in her voice but If anyone else heard her right now with this kind of expression on her face, they might actually run away. Scared shitless.
Her timing was very awful. But it was an improvement nonetheless. Sunny couldn't help but think that this Neph could sometimes be morbidly cunning, and other times, she could be so stupidly naive.
Which was in a sense.....cute.
"After of course…My bad, that was a stupid question to ask anyway."
She opened her mouth to respond but she was soon interrupted by Kai and the rest of the cohort.
The cohort's march toward Nephis has stirred the crowd and woke them up from their trance. Soon, the silence was gone and replaced by numerous murmurs.
Sunny locked eyes with Nephis before letting his gaze sweep through the crowd. Each time someone met his gaze, they would involuntarily flinch and divert their gazes away. Afraid that they might be the next in line.
Sunny's gaze turned back to Kai. To his surprise, even his friend seemed to flinch upon meeting his gaze, as if he had seen a ghost. Sunny was inwardly puzzled, to say the least.
'Was there something on my face?'
He couldn't help but ask himself. As he did, his eyes turned back to Nephis. If there was something on my face she would have pointed that out right?
However, Sunny didn't seem to have the luxury to be thinking about such a trivial thing. Soon he turned his gaze back to Kai who was also staring at him intently. His emerald green eyes shone with emotion as they held a deep-rooted gratitude with a tinge of fondness within them.
For whatever reason it was....Sunny was slightly surprised but he was still able to control his expression and not let any thoughts show on his face.
"Things might get hectic from now on, so go and gather the few friends you have around and come back here."
Sunny spoke with a hint of urgency in his voice. Kai looked at him with a puzzled expression, but he soon seemed to realize what Sunny meant after a moment of confusion.
The handsome Archer swept his gaze through the crowd with a pale expression, and so did Sunny.
Sunny's eyes finally caught its target.
Caster.
He simply stood there among the crowd with resentment in his eyes toward the one who made his whole plan futile. Instead of regrouping with the cohort, Caster seemed more invested in sending hate-filled stares toward Sunny.
As Kai sprinted toward the general direction of Aiko and Stev, Sunny made Nightmare slip from his shadow and stick close to Nephis.
From now onwards, everything depended on how the lieutenants would react. So nothing was within the expected range of outcomes.
Just as usual.
He would have to deal with that once it happens.
****
Tessai silently watched the events unfold before him from his elevated position, Looking down toward the approaching individual that slowly made its way up the steps, his pores expanded letting pockets of sweat coat his large frame.
Tessai felt as if there was an icy claw that had gripped his innards, twisting and freezing them. The palpable pressure in the air seemed to make the gravity in the vicinity stronger by folds as 'he' approached.
Maybe locking eyes with him was Tessai's worst mistake.
The moment his gaze met Sunny's, Tessai was hit by the same primeval fear he felt when he first faced him at the lodge in the outer settlement.
Tessai had always been a man of instinct, someone who valued strength and lived by the rule of the jungle. Even before awakening his aspect, Tessai was a brute among his peers, Making the best use of his large physique, Tessai ruled the slums with nothing but his bare fists, even at the tender age of fourteen.
Although the common brutes were often simple-minded and didn't think much, Tessai was quite sharp and quick-witted even for his age. He knew exactly which fights to take and which to avoid. That in return made him survive through the harsh environment of the slums for so many years.
Wasn't it only natural though?
Wasn't survival only right for the fittest?
Just like that the days tickled by soon turning into weeks and weeks turning into months. As life became boring to him, he lost the spark that ignited his desire for authority. And before he knew it, he got infected by the spell.
Soon enough he also survived the first trial of the Nightmare spell. Just like that, his boring life revved back up. He suddenly felt the thrill again.
He saw it as a blessing rather than a curse.
Just like all the other Sleepers, once the winter solstice came by he was sent back into the Dream Realm. As the last show of kindness toward him by the heavens, Tessai was lucky enough to arrive near the walls of the dark city, just like many others who arrived with him at that time.
Tessai finally felt what true freedom looked like. He could finally see his beastial nature roam around and freely run wild. He no longer had to hold back. He no longer wanted to be restricted by the rules of the waking world.
And Once he climbed up the walls, a new desire blossomed in his heart.
Awestruck by the majestic sight of the Bright Castle, he was frozen in place as something he had long since forgotten stirred in his heart.
His desire for Authority was awoken by the sight in front of him.
That Castle...
He wanted to conquer it.
To rule it.
To make it his own.
Driven by that desire he traversed the Dark City in order to make it first to the castle after what felt like a lifetime.
But he was soon met with a wall he couldn't climb.
The Bright Lord of the Castle.
Gunlaug.
At that time, to the inexperienced Tessai, Gunlaug was an immovable object, an untouchable Tyrant. Gunlaug was too cunning, too powerful, and too sinister for Tessai to handle. And before he even knew it, Tessai was completely driven into a corner.
Although Tessai was forced into submission, he wasn't aggravated by the turn of events in the slightest. As it seemed, Gunlaug had long since seen through his true nature, giving Tessai exactly what he wanted. A position of great power and people whom he was meant to rule.
The longer he spent in a world like this, the more he felt that this was the way it should be. When things were too peaceful, things would be too boring.
As the days passed it soon turned into years.
And before he knew it, Tessai was already twenty-five years old.
Tessai has always been an ambitious man. Although his position was that of power and influence, he still wanted more.
After all, Weren't humans greedy by nature? Thus Tessai couldn't help but feel inferior to his Lord.
So, how could he miss such a chance when it presented itself to him?
Throughout all these years, Changing Star was the only person who had publicly challenged the Bright Lord for the throne and not for a righteous cause like defending the weak.
Her deeds at the outer settlement were a stark challenge to his authority after all.
Being an opportunistic man, he saw a chance in this chaos. In fact, he had personally reported the death of his guards to the Bright Lord claiming that it was Huntress Athena who had killed them.
Although that golden serpent was already aware of the truth and the fact he was lying, Gunlaug had simply chosen to turn a blind eye to it and play along. Soon enough, Gunlaug was Using the death of those guards to stir the public opinion against Changing Star and her cohort. However, Their trial should have long been executed hadn't they escaped the Dark City a few months ago.
Having served the Tyrant for so long, Tessai was quite confident that Gunlaug would choose to personally execute the woman who dared to challenge his authority, and judging by the few things he knew about the so-called Changing Star, he knew she would not go down without a fight.
So what was Tessai's plan in all of this?
Once one of the two dies he would be Using that moment to take down the other wounded winner.
Regardless of who the winner might be, Tessai was determined to take down the winner and reclaim the throne that should have been originally his.
He almost couldn't believe himself for coming up with such a great plan.
But who could've Guessed that such a terrifying variable would arise?
Noticing the cold glint in Sunny's eyes, Tessai was suddenly hit with the same sensation as earlier—like the frigid, emotionless grip of a demon, twisting at his insides, wringing the air out of his lungs.
Air escaped his throat in choppy, shallow gasps as if the wind had been knocked out of him.
Although Sunny wasn't wearing any particular expression on his face, Tessai felt like Sunny's Eyes were glued to him.
Tessai was unable to compose himself. He could feel his hands trembling. But Then the realization dawned on him like a pocket of icy cold water. It wasn't just his hands; his whole body shuddered uncontrollably from its very core.
'What is this?'
Tessai thought.
Even Gunlaug couldn't make him feel this way…
If anything, Tessai was quite confident in taking Changing Star head-on if they were to fight thanks to his aspect countering hers to an extent.
But this guy?
Tessai didn't even know what the guy's aspect was!
Tessai never thought that something as simple as eye contact could be so terrifying, but then his abysmal dark eyes, sharp as a knife, met his, and the remaining air in his lungs was sucked out.
An inaudible scream of protest resounded deep in his mind, his instinct was begging him to flee, to escape in the opposite direction from this demon.
Yet his legs refused to budge.
How many legions of men and beasts had he murdered to possess such a suffocating, and oppressive aura?
How could these people not feel this?
Tessai's heart pounded harder and harder against his ribcage as if it wanted to break out and escape the closer Sunny got. His vision blurred and cold beads of sweat rolled down his forehead and into his eyes.
He who could control cold was feeling cold for the first time since he awakened his aspect.
Tearing his eyes away from Sunny, Tessai finally managed to breathe.
And with every remaining strength he had, Tessai roared. A deep hoarse voice soared from the depth of his throat breaking the overwhelming silence that had befallen the entire hall.
"Retreat!"
Everyone was stunned by the turn of events. Even the lieutenants by his side were equally stunned. But Tessai couldn't care less about them at the moment. Without even giving his men the time to comprehend the order, Tessai had long since turned and disappeared into the space behind the throne.
After a moment of confusion, his men too retreated.
Soon enough, the numbers of people in the hall were almost reduced by half. Sunny too couldn't have foreseen such an outcome. He was ready to forcefully put down the Brute if he needed to.
Tessai's already shallow breathing was ragged as he shot through the corridors of the Bright castle with frightening speed.
Even he couldn't believe how fast he could run considering his large physique. But he wasn't in the mood to care about such things.
Taking Sharp twists and turns, Tessai's current goal was to get as far as possible from the hall.
Tessai's instinct told him that he would definitely die if he stood there any longer. So how could he care if his men made out of there safely or not?
Without regard to how he looked running with his tail between his legs, Tessai ran with everything he had.
What about his image in the eyes of his men?
Fuck it.
The Throne?
'They could have it for all I care!'
His pride?
"Fuck that too."
__________________
A/N:
The reason for not updating chapters of this fic was that I broke my arm in a car accident two weeks ago. Even this chapter is written using Google Voice:)
So the updating schedule would be inconsistent for a while until I recover.
I might try to update once a week since I found this way quite enjoyable and an interesting experience. But I won't make any promises!
Don't forget to leave a feedback on this chapter!
Hope you enjoyed it!
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