The day before the siege of the Crimson Spire, Sunny had explored the cathedral of the Forsaken Knight one last ti, sothing told him that there was sothing important here.
And there he had finally found use for the mysterious key that he had found in the Lord of the Dead's body, a secret door deep in the cathedral.
Sunless entered, together with Lauma and Lycon.
The state of the room was like the rest of the cathedral, in ruins, but although it was a simple room, looking more like a prison cell than a real room, there were so things that caught the attention of the Sleepers.
Lycon touched the runes etched into the stone with a heavy expression while Lauma looked over the dead rotting body of the one who was imprisoned here.
"Poor soul…"
Sunny crouched down at the robed prisoner, paying attention to the mask that covered his face.
A wooden mask, with a devil's snarl forever imprinted.
He grabbed it, observing and analyzing it, feeling a strange sense of… Familiarity. Until the mask disappeared into white sparks.
[You have obtained a mory, Weaver's Mask.]
'What?!'
Shock took over Sunny, not believing what had just happened. Before Lauma or Lycon could question anything, he quickly looked at his runes.
mory: [Weaver's Mask]
mory Rank: Divine.
mory Tier: VII.
mory Type: Tool.
mory Description: [Weaver believed that knowledge was the origin of power and so always hid behind nurous lies, wearing them as a mantle. No one knew Weaver's thoughts, Weaver's face, and Weaver's heart. Even the gods could not see what hid behind the mask.]
'D-Divine?! A Divine mory?!'
He completely froze, elation and excitent clouded his mind, ignoring all distractions, he summoned the mory into reality, wanting to wear it, excited to wear it.
But before he could, Lycon stopped him by grabbing his hand. His expression was worried and showed a hint of irritation.
"What are you doing?"
Sunless was confused.
"Testing a new mory…"
"One that you found in the middle of a cell being worn by a corpse of a prisoner surrounded by walls filled with unkept runes. For all we know it can make you insane."
Sunny furrowed his brows.
"Have you ever seen a mory with side effects?"
Lycon's expression got even heavier, his grip tightened. A voice full of grief and sadness left his mouth.
"Yes…"
Sunless froze, not expecting the answer. They looked at each other for a couple of seconds.
Lauma hesitated, but gained courage to approach them and slowly guided them to separate, both didn't resist. Her calming voice alleviated the tension.
"Please, let's think clearly, speaking like this doesn't help us. Lycon, I'm sure Lord Sunless-"
Sunny interrupted her.
"No… Lycon is right."
Both of his subordinates looked at him surprised, but in the end, Sunless accepted that he was being too hasty.
Sure, sothing led him here, but this has sothing to do with Weaver, and everything regarding Weaver should be taken carefully, he needed to take this to Cassie first, then he'll decide what to do.
'Who knows, maybe only Weaver's Heir is supposed to wear this mask…'
—
But in the end, Cassie just told him to keep it, not even telling the enchantnts of the mask.
But it made sense, in a way, Cassie insisted that his mother couldn't know that she was Weaver's Heir, getting rid of another of his relics might raise suspicion, it didn't help he had no way of knowing if Revel actually saw the mory yet.
Sunny held [Weave's Mask] in his hand as Nephis activated the [Dawn Shard]. The mory began to shine, and soon all the mories of the Drear Army were augnted.
They were on a small hill that oversaw the battlefield where the siege would take place, rely waiting for the Sun to rise so the entirety of the Dark Sea would retreat. Cassie was climbing the steps to et them with the assistance of Lauma.
Sunless dismissed the cursed mory and turned to the rest of the Shadow Watchers behind him, the only one not present was Kira, who was in the vanguard of the Army.
He turned to i and approached her.
"Can you give your Echo?"
With a little nod, i touched Sunny's hand and transferred the Echo of the Stone Saint she acquired.
"What will you do with it?"
The question was obvious, it is a very valuable Echo, that was stronger than its Rank and Class would suggest. Sunless smirked at his subordinate.
"I will show you why my Echo is stronger than yours."
Sunless entered his soul sea where the new Echo was standing, Shadow Saint and his other Shadows regarded the newcor with curiosity, well, Wraith and Serpent did, Saint just nodded in respect towards her old companion.
A new ssage appeared before Sunless.
[Do you wish to transform the Echo into a Shadow?]
"Yes."
Shadows rose from the silent black sea and consud the Stone Saint, transforming it into a new Shadow, like Saint was before she upgraded classes…
But sothing interesting happened, Sunny saw so of the shades in the horizon of his soul sea shift, until eventually two of them moved towards the Stone Saint, Sunless recognized them, they were the shadows of two Stone Saints he himself killed.
Then the process continued as usual.
'So it uses the shadow of the being I killed to evolve the Echo? And if I don't have the shadow of the creature, it uses other ones.'
But that raised a question.
Sunless turned to Wraith.
'How co you didn't use any shades?'
Wraith was not a being Sunless killed, as such, he didn't recieve the shadow of it, he was a present from Stalker to him. It didn't make any sense…
Well, it was a question for another day. He turned back to the new Shadow.
'I'm going to need to think up a new na, two Shadows nad Saint isn't going to work… There was this Knight from this series I always see Silent watching when she has free ti, what was his na again? Sothing with a 'I'?"
As the process finished, he felt so of his strength vanish, he took a look at his fragnts.
Shadow Fragnts: [2106/3000]
'Again, worth it.'
The new Shadow Stone Saint opened his new eyes and regarded the new situation, quickly noticing his old companion, nodding to her, Saint nodded back in respect.
Sunny smiled in satisfaction and returned from the soul sea, looking at i, he summoned his new Shadow.
The male Shadow Saint rose from the shadows and looked at the Shadow Watchers, who looked surprised, realization passed through them.
"So that's why your Echos are so strong! And why was your Saint so different from i's!"
rlin talked in awe, her cat-like eyes glowing like fireworks. Sunless smirked, but ended up scratching his head.
"Yep, unfortunately I don't think I can give it away…"
i raised a hand, stopping Sunny from even considering feeling guilty.
"If it is stronger, it's all that matters."
He nodded, then turned to the Shadow.
"Protect them at all costs."
The Shadow Saint looked at the mbers of the Shadow Watchers, a hint of realization passed through his eyes when his gaze passed i, but he looked at Sunless and nodded.
"That goes to you too."
Wraith was summoned from behind Sunny.
"Give them hell."
The wolf sharpened its three red eyes, understanding the order.
Cassie and Lauma had reached the hill, Sunless then rembered sothing and tried to call the seer.
"Cassie! Can you…"
But she imdiately talked back, not even looking at him.
"No need, the Scavenger won't help much here."
Sunny blinked his eyes multiple tis, then sighed, having to accept the fact that seers are really powerful, and also accept the chuckles of his subordinates behind him.
But all of the humor died as the Sun rose higher, and all of the Sleepers looked at the Spire.
Serpent was also summoned, slithering in Sunless' neck.
"You also know what to do, right?"
The dark snake gazed at the Crimson Spire, and left its master's neck, slithering towards the vanguard of the Drear Army.
The light of the Sun of the Forgotten Shore bathed the Crimson Spire, illuminating the red coral that infested the dreadful tower that lood over the Sleepers.
And as the Sun rose completely, what was left of the Dark Sea retreated back and gave place to the terrain that would mark the siege. Red coral made up several structures similar to bridges that would serve as their path to the island where the cursed tower rested.
For a second, all that was were coral and rock formations, then, a swarm of nightmare creatures appeared out of the Spire, ground and fissures. From Carapace Scavengers, Centurions, and Demons, to Blood fiends, centepied-like creatures and countless more. Cursed Heralds took flight, circling the Spire until the Army of Sleepers took their attention.
The guardians of the Crimson Spire all turned to the invaders.
850 Sleepers walked in formation to challenge the great tower, the gateway to their salvation, always so close… Yet so far.
Today, it will be conquered.
Effie was the first to step on the red coral, then Gunlaug and Kira followed.
The contrast of the white cape of the [Starlight Shard] from Effie, the golden transcended armor from Gunlaug, and the fearso black armor from Kira made a contrast of all of what the Drear Army had to be right now.
Determined, grand, and ruthless.
As the guardians of the Spire rushed towards the invaders, Gunlaug turned to his companion.
"I… Couldn't find the ti to talk..."
Kira twitched his head. Their muffled voices could still be heard even with all the screeches of the monstrosities advancing towards them.
"Neither did I, but then again, we were never really friends."
Gunlaug manifested his axe.
"Even so… You put your trust in , and I failed you."
Kira touched the [Shattered Darkness] and made the blade burn in red flas.
"Make it up by being this army's spear."
Gunlaug moved faster, getting past Effie to be the vanguard of the Army.
"I'll be more than that."
Beneath all the armor and Darkness that shrouded Kira's face, he smirked, a feeling of fulfillnt passed over him, and he rushed to join the past Bright Lord.
Effie then shouted on the top of her lungs to the whole army, who stared at the incoming nightmare creatures with horror and shock.
"Stand your grounds! Don't run, if you do, I'll kill you myself!"
She may have said that, but she herself was scared shitless.
'F*ck, F*ck, F*ck!'
But, upon seeing the two n walking- no, running towards the horde, she…
Was still scared shitless.
'F*cking lunatics! F*ck!'
Yet, all of them were, all Sleepers knew what they were getting themselves into, but fear and horror still creeped onto them, but after seeing Gunlaug, who was once the Tyrant that ruled over them, charged forward to et the abominations. Knowing full well the plan of the Army.
Their fear slipped away little by little…
"Fist mark!"
Seishan's voice pierced Effie's ears, the third line made up by archers and siege engines were being launched.
The first line of fighters were lead by Effie and were supposed to take the frontal assault, followed by the second line lead by Seishan, Caster and Gemma, who would switch places once the first line got tired. The third line was the archers and siege engines made by the artisans, led by Kai.
Originally, Effie was supposed to give the signals for the third line, but thanks to Sunny's little friend, a girl with a really bad flaw, Nephis and Sunless knew everything that happened during the battle, aning they could give the signals.
The rain of arrows and massive projectiles ca down on the massive horde of nightmare creatures, yet it didn't stop them, nurous were torn, mangled, bloodied, killed. They didn't stop.
And neither did the armored humans.
Gunlaug and Kira seed to completely ignore the waves of arrows and siege engines that rained down, they continued to advance, re ters to et the horde.
And then, a little serpent passed through Effie's legs.
'What the-'
Then the little serpent was engulfed by shadows and transford into a massive fog of shadows that solidified into an enormous creature, a nightmare creature.
A Carapace Demon.
It advanced, galloping in its multiple legs and joined the two armored n.
And they clashed into the horde.
The golden armor of Gunlaug glowed as he slashed his way through the countless nightmare creatures that charged at him, his Transcended Echo let him ignore most, if not all blows that ca his way, letting him focus on full offence.
His body moved in a ruthless dance of unrelenting carnage, grabbing a centipede with his bare hands and using the strength of his Echo to crush it completely. Moving his axe to cut through Carapace Scavengers and Centurions like paper.
The man Sunless recruited, Kira was not far behind, although he didn't have a Transcendent armor, his aspect, skill and sword made his slaughter no less impressive than Gunlaug's. Nightmare creatures burned and squird as his flaming Ascended sword massacred each and every abomination that got in his way.
'Just where the hell did you get a subordinate like this one Doofus?! I want one too!'
But at one point, Kira crouched while dodging a Blood Flower and touched the ground, the temperature around him rose so much even Effie was able to feel it, her vision began to blur around him, as if he was in a desert. He was using the full power of his aspect, letting the heat crumble and ímpair the creatures. Only Gunlaug and the Carapace Demon would be able to be close to him without being impaired by the heat of the black Knight.
Speaking of the Echo of the Demon, it was much stronger than a regular Carapace Demon, whatever Sunny did to it (of course it was his), it was at least twice as strong as a regular Awakened Demon, demonstrated by the fact it tore through a nightmare creature version of the sa Demon with extre ease, throwing lesser abominations around and squashing centipedes and Blood Fiends with its sharp limbs.
All of this while the rain of arrows continued to fall on the horde of creatures, the three Champions seemingly indifferent for the potential friendly fire. Either by ignoring it, or dodging the projectiles.
And yet, all of this slaughter wasn't enough to stop the advance of the guardians of the Crimson Spire, many abominations ignored the strongest of the Army and went directly towards the main line, where Effie was right in the center of it...
The huntress thought that the first line would crumble from the pressure, horror and fear destroying them from the inside…
However, that didn't happen. As the light of the [Dawn Shard's] gem shined behind them, they stood firm, their faces plastered with fear… And courage, after all, courage wasn't the absence of fear, but the capability to overco it.
Kira and Gunlaug helped them overco the fear they were feeling, and with Changing Star augnting their mories, inspiring them to siege the Spire…
All flinched. All hesitated. None backed down.
Effie couldn't help but chuckle.
'Lunatics… Well so am I!'
She put the [Dusk Shard] forward to protect herself and thrusted the [Zenith Shard] towards the horde.
It pierced the first creature, killing it instantly. Then Effie slashed to the right, killing another.
Then more and more creatures died as they clashed with the army of humans.
Soon their formation was shattered, the centipedes and Blood Flowers' unpredictable movents were able to catch many by surprise, their limbs being ripped and heads crushed.
That let the packs of Scavengers and Centurions topple many Sleepers.
But that didn't let the Drear Army relent. For every human killed, another took their place, for every man that fell, another made sure to destroy two more abominations.
It began as a stalemate, but it slowly beca a march for the Sleepers, with Kira, Gunlaug and the Demon dealing with the most powerful abominations, the Army could advance. It was a bloodied advance, but it was a step forward nonetheless.
Dozens died, hundreds advanced. It was clear that the plan of the first and second line switching was pretty much discarded. Even in the bloodlusted state she was in, killing creature after creature, Effie could judge that sothing so organized would be impossible in this situation.
Seishan must have read Effie's mind, because the second line began to join the first.
A Carapace Centurion managed to rip a Sleeper that was on Effie's side in half, it quickly toppled the others and turned to the huntress in a corrupted rage, Effie was too occupied with her own carnage that she hadn't noticed as the Monster raised its scythe-like limb to slash her back. But she was saved by a blur of light.
Caster used his aspect to blow the Centurion's side off, piercing its heart with the Ascended lance Sunny gave him.
There was no ti for Effie to thank him, they needed to continue the battle, continue fighting.
In fact, the giant huntress seed to be enjoying herself in all the battle, her fear replaced by elation as she ignored the damn pain, a grin plastered on her face.
Caster on the other hand used the full power of his aspect, turning into a hurricane of red mist as he killed monster after monster without even letting their blood drop on the coral before moving to the next target.
Seishan and Gemma also joined.
The beautiful woman turned into a horrific abomination, using a silver armor that enveloped her body and two crimson gauntlets that turned all the blood that fell on it into sharper and sharper claws. Her speed and ferocity slaughtered dozens of creatures in re monts, yet she still moved with elegance, precision, every movent had purpose, killing all with only the necessary force.
For many, it was the first ti they saw the leader of the Handmaidens fight, so it was a surprise to see the horrific form of Seishan, even more when that form was an ever present force, always present to save all handmaidens she could.
The experienced hunter Gemma on the other hand showed his skill and cunning, no creature could stop him, every wound he received was gone by the next second, making him the perfect killing machine for the occasion.
But it wasn't enough, too many were dying, even with the advance, not to ntion the battle barely started, as the five Cursed Heralds had yet to begin their assault, still rely gazing at the bloodied strife occurring on the ground.
More than half of the first line was gone, the second line had joined them, nurous Sleepers advanced against the horde.
— —
The iron defensive net created by the artisans was crumbling, being bombarded by suicidal nightmare creatures that lauched themselves onto the net, threatening the third line. Yet the Cursed Heralds still lood over the army, not moving an inch.
The third line itself was running out of ammunition, arrows and lances were being exhausted by their continued use. Kai decided to use his Ascended bow that used his blood as arrows, he didn't look good.
The makeshift hospital tents were filled with people, trying to save as much as they can.
Sunless looked at the map that Lauma was forming with cold, hollow eyes, the guide had her eyes moving constantly to capture every mont she could… At least the broad strokes of the battlefield.
Lauma's nature made the sight hurt her very core, and the amount of information coming into her mind… It was too much for a Sleeper to handle. Yet she knew it was necessary, even if it destroyed her mind. Sunless had found a place for her, she wouldn't let him down.
Sunless breathed in and looked at the rest of the Shadow Watchers and his two Shadows.
"Go, and don't die."
Nix nodded, and the group moved towards the front lines, ready to join the army.
"Except you Motza, you'll stay with ."
The assassin stopped, then looked at Nix for a little too long, but a reassuring smile from the girl made him sigh and move to Sunless' side.
Now that the initial clash was over, the chaos on the battlefield would make the skill, techniques and strategies of the Shadow Watchers more deadly and efficient.
Nephis was beside Sunless, she was looking at the map until she switched her gaze to the tower.
He however, was still observing the map, constantly having the Spell whispering into his ear.
[You have slain…]
[You have slain…]
Serpent was making a rampage, well it was evident, an Awakened Demon with the augntation of one of his shadows would make it as powerful as a Fallen creature. And the Spell would irritate him even more now that two more Shadows would join in. A Stone Saint and an Ascended Demon…
'I hope I don't have a headache…'
Back to the battlefield, the exhaustion seed to be getting to the Drear Army.
But things weren't as bad as they could be. The amount of Sleepers made it so the pressure of the nightmare creatures was much less than it could be, many more could take the place of the fallen and many more could save the wounded.
And the massacre committed by Kira, Gunlaug and Serpent on the front lines made the pressure on the army alleviate, even if just a little.
So the army advanced, the casualties were imnse, but they advanced. More than a hundred Sleepers must have died already, maybe more than two hundred.
Sunless forced himself to not think of the deaths and focused on the matter at hand.
As more and more blood and bodies piled, more and more darkness began to fill in the battlefield, the shadows cast by the great Sun of the Forgotten Shore infested the area with the perfect scenario for his talents.
Nephis turned to him, white flas ignited in her eyes.
"It's ti."
He sighed, then t her eyes with his dark gaze.
"Alright."
He turned to Motza and gave a signal to follow him.
Lauma closed her eyes and dismissed her aspect, the hologram-like map vanished into blue sparks. She felt her legs falter, then brought her hands to her head, a severe headache pierced her brain due to the overuse of the aspect.
Cassie held her to stop her from falling, but Lauma inevitably fell to the ground.
She breathed heavily, the amount of information, of death, she saw was… Too much. A gentle hand touched her shoulder, and a warm feeling passed through her body, chasing the pain away.
Looking up, Changing Star healed her, then summoned her blade, moving forward, jumping to the ground to join the battle.
"Thank you, Lauma."
Lord Sunless stated, following Immortal Fla together with Motza, but before leaving, he turned and gave her a gentle smile that betrayed the emptiness of his eyes.
"You can rest now."
Lauma sighed in exhaustion as her master and companion left the small hill they were stationed on. She waited for them to leave, and started to cry, not of sadness or grief, but relief.
In the middle of all the blood and carnage of the Siege of the Crimson Spire…
A girl that once accepted the fact she was useless and fated to die…
Found peace, and a place to belong.
— —
The Drear Army was exhausted and wounded, but not broken, they were still ferocious, unrelenting, unyielding, they still marched towards the cursed Spire.
And they would march even further, because now the Shadow Watchers joined the battle, each one valued for dozens of Sleepers, the elite of the Shadow saved nurous soldiers and pushed the nightmare creatures even further back.
But most importantly, the leader of the Army was now on the battlefield.
Their light, Nephis, Changing Star's light burned their foes and ignited the will of the Sleepers once more, making their charge move forward unimpeded, regardless of what it took.
All the while the Heir of Shadows and his Wraithborn assassin moved in the shadows towards the Crimson Spire. Moving to open its doors and finish the nightmare of the Sleepers.
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