...Just like that, the winter solstice came.
Nephis had finally become the true ruler of the bright castle. Gemma was the first to join her faction, and then Seishan betrayed Tessai and joined us too.
Before these all had happened I was hunting city guards in the night just to get more soul shards. And sometimes even challenged nightmare creatures, although my focus was usually on the humans. It was an inhumane thing to do, however I was quiet driven to form my other soul cores as quickly as possible.
Additionally since I was an immortal I did not have to have any moral codes, right? Perhaps it was a way of coping with my villain-ish actions. But there were no villains or heroes in the forgotten shore. Everyone was just trying either to survive or to return to their homes. Many of the people here were just kids..
Nephis was planning to save the crimson spire raid to the winter solstice.
There were just five hundred people in the Dark City now. In less than a month, the human population of the Forgotten Shore had been reduced by half. The outer settlement remained completely abandoned, but even then, there were barely enough people to maintain and guard the Bright Castle.
Nevertheless, we persevered.
The halls and corridors of the ancient citadel were cleaned of blood and corpses. The Nightmare Creatures that had found their way inside were methodically hunted down and eliminated. The breaches in the defensive lines they had created were located and repaired.
Neph's watchmen assumed the role of the obliterated Castle Guard, manning the walls and protecting the stronghold from outside threats. The hunting parties resumed their expeditions into the ruins, with hunters from the outer settlement and the Castle joining forces under the leadership of Effie and Gemma. Once again, there was food for everyone to eat and safety to enjoy.
Despite the harrowing hollowness and the absence of so many young men and women who had died in the turmoil of the bloody struggle for the throne, not to mention the invisible scars left on the souls of those who had survived, things were slowly starting to resemble how they had been before.
By killing Fallen abominations, Nephis was achieving several goals simultaneously. She was steadily accumulating an arsenal of Memories to arm every person in the Castle. Some of those Memories were even of the Ascended Rank, and the number of such powerful armaments slowly grew.
She and her warriors also brought back large quantities of soul shards, which were then given to the inhabitants of the Castle to absorb and grow stronger.
Perhaps I would be able to become a tyrant by then. But that didn't seem possible for now since I needed 4000 soul fragments which was more than the others.
'Would I be able to lay eggs or get pregnant when I become a tyrant..?'
Shaking my head and clearing it from these weird thoughts, I made my way to the meeting room. Kai had went on a week long expedition to the labyrinth to find if any sleepers had arrived on the Forgotten shore, which I doubted. Today he was supposed to return and deliver us the news.
As I entered the room, it seemed that everyone was already here. Seishan too..
As expected, Kai told us that he had not found any sleepers. The spell had really stopped sending any dreamers here, and would not be sending any more either.
With a sigh, Nephis slowly nodded and stared at the fire burning in the hearth for a bit. Everyone stood silently, waiting for her to make a decision.
Finally, she said without looking at them:
"...Tell everyone to gather in the throne room. I will speak to them."
Without wasting any time, Caster bowed slightly and left the room. Effie gave her a short look, and then followed him. So did the rest.
***
After the 'talk' with the people of the bright castle, Nephis led a small group of her most powerful warriors on one last hunt, the hunt was successful as we killed the lord of the dead and Effie received a shard memory.
In the dim light of dawn, the gates of the castle opened for the last time. A long procession of humans walked through them, leaving the ancient citadel that had sheltered them for so long.
They walked under the swinging skulls, not paying them any attention. In the aftermath of all the strife, no one had bothered to remove the ghastly things from their chains.
It was not like anyone could have forgotten the hundreds of lives lost in the struggle, and thousands of deaths before that, even if the skulls were removed.
Five hundred people descended the hill and entered the Dark City. A few Nightmare Creatures tried to attack them, and were eviscerated before managing to do any harm.
These five hundred humans were not a defenseless crowd. They were a battle-hardened army, one comprised of exceptionally powerful Sleepers… the most powerful Sleepers to ever be born from the human race, perhaps.
They moved the ruins, cutting down anything that dared to block their path. Soon, the Sleepers approached the western boundary of the Dark City and scaled the ancient wall.
There, they stopped and turned, staring at the silhouette of the Bright Castle in solemn silence.
…By then, pillars of black smoke were billowing from each of its windows. Soon, the whole castle was enveloped by furious flames, which slowly devoured the white stone of its walls. The magnificent marble cracked and melted, destroyed by the terrible heat. The smaller towers swayed and moved, and then fell into the terrible crucible.
The fire was slowly destroying the Bright Castle, turning it into a molten ruin.
In a sense, this was fitting. After all, everything else in the Dark City had been ruined a long, long time ago.
Surprisingly, this act of destruction was not Changing Star's idea. She wasn't the one who ordered to burn the Bright Castle behind them, like a final gesture to hammer it into everyone's souls that there was no way back anymore.
And now that they were leaving, they wanted to erase the Bright Castle from existence. Perhaps if it was gone, the memories of all the darkness that they had witnessed there, and were the perpetrators of, would disappear with it.
After a while, the misshapen, twisted silhouette of the dying fortress was completely hidden by the fire and smoke. Slowly, the silent Sleepers turned away from that sight and looked far away into the distance.
They were looking west.
That was where they were going.
To lay siege to the Crimson Spire.
One after another, the Sleepers descended from the wall and left the Dark City behind.
***
In the cold light of dawn, a gargantuan crimson tower was rising from the Labyrinth. From this distance, it looked like a bloodied sword that some primordial titan had thrust into the heavens.
The crimson coral streamed from its walls like the blood of gods, spreading out from the base of the Spire to devour all of the Forgotten Shore. The tower itself seemed to stand on an island, which was surrounded from all sides by black water. Even though the sun was already climbing up, this part of the cursed sea did not disappear.
Instead, it lingered and moved endlessly, forming a giant whirlpool. Unclear shapes could be seen moving under the surface of the black water, drowning the hearts of humans who dared to approach the Spire with dread.
People were busy preparing for the battle. The dread they had felt at dawn, after looking at the Crimson Spire, which was now so close, turned into grim determination and resolve. Everyone was making final preparations. Some were checking their armor and weapons for the last time. Some were hurriedly building makeshift fortifications.
Some were praying, begging the dead gods to save their lives.
Well.. Sunny and me had been given the role to banish the dark sea. The oath keys laid on Sunny's soul.
Very soon, the sun rose higher, and the dark whirlpool surrounding the Crimson Spire became a little smaller. Several bridges of red coral rose from its depths, connecting the island to the rest of the Forgotten Shore.
And out there on the island, countless silhouettes suddenly began to move, crawling out of the crimson mounds. They were the Nightmare Creatures guarding the cursed tower.
All kinds of horrors were among them. There were members of the carapace legion: scavengers, centurions, and demons. There were colonies of carnivorous worms, giant centipedes that secreted corrosive oil, and eerie vines that crawled on the ground like snakes.
There were beasts that could shoot deadly bone spears from their bodies and beasts that could turn their prey to stone with their gaze.
There were corpses with red flowers growing from the holes in their flesh and giant abominations that resembled praying mantises, if those were made of glass and bloodred clay.
And so much more..
From our position we could see the front line quickly. Someone even dropped their weapon.
A moment later, Effie's loud voice rolled over the rows of Sleepers:
"Stand your ground, wretches! If anyone runs, I'll kill you myself!"
Strangely, her irritated shout calmed down the fear in their hearts.
A moment later, however, it was drowned in the cacophony of the approaching horde.
...The battle for the Crimson Spire had begun.
***
Things were turning from dire to desperate for the Dreamer Army. The first line was almost gone, and the second was now completely engulfed by the horde of Nightmare Creatures. Seishan was still standing her ground, but just barely.
The archers under Kai's command were doing their best to eviscerate as many monsters as they could, but with their attention split between those on the ground and those diving at the iron net from above, the results weren't as devastating as they had been during the initial stage of the battle.
"Let's go.."
Sunny told me.
And right after that we immediately sprung into action.
In front of him, the desperately fighting Dreamer Army was intertwined with the nightmare horde in the darkness cast by the groaning net of iron wires.
Sunny immediately delved into shadows, becoming one of their own. Even I could not sense him as I ran to the battlefield.
I ran past the tent of the makeshift hospital where a group of people was supposed to be desperately trying to save those lucky few who had managed to receive a non-lethal wound.
Right now, however, the tent was partially toppled and engulfed in chaos. One of the flying Nightmare Creatures had somehow managed to squeeze under the net and was now wreaking havoc inside of it, its black body pierced by several arrows, but still full of deadly power.
With a heavy punch, enchanted with the Bone Shed hammer, I crushed the beast's head easily and continued my way.
Then, I was between the rows of archers. These people were continuing to fire, desperately trying to find clear spots between the numerous corpses piled on top of the trembling iron net.
"Levi is here!"
I could hear the hopeful screams as I ran past them. Unlike Sunny I could not stay hidden, I was bound to be seen. But it did not matter currently as we had a more important mission.
The second line had lost almost all pretense of order, but remained unbroken. With the warriors under Effie's command still taking the brunt of the horde and withstanding its pressure, Seishan had managed to prevent any abominations from reaching the archers.
…At least for now.
As I ran through the people and the abominations, I struck any creature that was out in the open and dodged whoever tried to attack me. As I slid under a creature, I corroded its stomach and got out of the way just in time as its inner organs spilled out with a sickening sound.
Moving between the endless horde of monsters, I dodged and avoided their bodies. If I stopped I was going to be injured severely. If I slowed down I was going to be crushed, even if I was immortal I still needed my body to be healthy so that I could complete my mission.
And after a while.. I finally broke free of the endless horde of abominations. Sunny was already waiting for me.
"What took you so long?"
Before I could reply, the darkness behind me was suddenly annihilated by a blinding explosion of light. The noise of the battle changed, somehow growing even more intense. The howling of the nightmare horde grew louder, but also became slightly muffled, almost… anxious.
Changing Star and the Crimson Matriarch had finally joined the fight.
***
In front of us was a clear path to the Crimson Spire. We ran forward without even looking back.
Hidden behind a tall mound of crimson coral, a vast expanse of flat surface led all the way to the walls of the corrupted Spire. On it, arranged in a wide semi-circle, seven giant heads stared away from us.
These were the stolen heads of the seven colossal statues that stood across the desolate hell of the Forgotten Shore, ones that had been torn off their shoulders by the Crimson Terror thousands of years ago and then brought here, to lay at the base of its citadel for all eternity.
The Lord, the Priestess, the Knight, the Hunter, the Builder, the Slayer, and the Stranger.
Their gazes were aimed at the gargantuan gates of the Spire.
And there, on those gates, the image of seven shining stars was engraved into the ancient stone.
Each star had a dark keyhole in its radiant center.