Nephis silently gathered the soul shards and held them up for the tall girl to see.
"We have two."
Effie glanced at the glowing fragnts and let out a long sigh.
"Only two? Well... better than nothing, I guess. Keep them. You'll need them later."
The way she said it made Nephis pause.
Sothing about her tone felt strange.
Changing Star lingered for a mont before asking:
"We were hoping to reach the Citadel and access the Gateway as soon as possible. How long will it take?"
For several seconds, Effie simply stared at them.
Then, without warning, she burst into laughter.
The sudden sound echoed across the ruined rooftop.
She doubled over, clutching her stomach as if Nephis had just told the funniest joke she had ever heard. The laughter continued for so long that tears ford in the corners of her eyes.
Sunny frowned.
Cassie looked confused.
Even Elysia, who had been quietly sitting beside the fire while warming her hands, blinked in surprise.
"...Did I say sothing funny?" she asked softly.
Senrix crossed his arms over his crimson-and-black armor.
"No. Sothing's wrong."
His voice remained calm and blunt as always, but Sunny noticed his hand slowly drifting toward his weapon.
The laughter continued.
Finally, Effie wiped her eyes and straightened.
"Ah... sorry. Sorry, guys. I just couldn't help myself."
She exhaled and shook her head.
"Forgive my lack of manners."
Then her expression slowly darkened.
Looking directly into their eyes, she spoke.
"I can take you to the castle."
A brief pause followed.
"But there's no Gateway there."
Silence.
Effie's smile disappeared entirely.
"In fact, there is no way out of this cursed hell."
The words landed like a hamr.
"I've been stuck here for three years myself. So... welco to the Dark City. Abandon hope, all ye who enter here, and all that."
Nobody spoke.
For a few monts, the crackling fire was the only sound.
Sunny felt sothing fragile break deep inside his chest.
A dream.
A hope.
The future he had desperately fought for.
It shattered into countless pieces.
'No.'
His hands trembled.
'No... that's impossible.'
Everything they had endured.
The Labyrinth.
The darkness.
The monsters.
The endless struggle to survive.
All of it had been for one purpose.
Reaching the Citadel.
Finding the Gateway.
Going ho.
How could she tell them that none of it mattered?
How could everything disappear because of a few simple words?
Beside him, Cassie's voice trembled.
"What do you an... there is no Gateway?"
Effie shrugged.
"It's simple, really."
For the first ti, there was genuine sympathy in her eyes.
"I'm sorry to be the one telling you this. But deep down, you probably already knew."
She glanced toward the endless darkness beyond the walls.
"The Forgotten Shore isn't a place humans are supposed to survive in."
Sunny's jaw tightened.
Of course.
The answer had always been there.
Right in front of him.
He had simply refused to see it.
The Dream Realm was vast.
Countless regions remained unexplored.
But even then, people knew sothing about most places.
Stories.
Records.
Rumors.
Yet nobody had ever ntioned the Forgotten Shore.
Not once.
Neither he nor Nephis had recognized anything about it.
Neither had Cassie.
At first, Sunny blad his poor education.
Now he realized the truth.
Nobody knew about this place because nobody returned from it.
The realization made him sick.
He had been a fool.
A complete fool.
A few comfortable weeks in the Academy had softened him.
Made him forget what the world was truly like.
Cruel.
Unforgiving.
Hungry.
The world never gave people like him a chance.
It only waited for the perfect mont to devour them whole.
A bitter taste filled his mouth.
Nearby, Elysia lowered her gaze.
The energetic young woman who normally seed incapable of staying quiet looked unusually subdued.
"...So that's why."
Her voice sounded small.
"I always thought there had to be a reason nobody talked about this place."
The usual brightness in her eyes dimd.
Sunny had never seen her look so defeated.
Even Senrix remained silent.
His expression barely changed, but his crimson eyes narrowed slightly.
Unlike the others, he wasn't shocked.
He was calculating.
Analyzing.
Searching for flaws in the information.
Searching for possibilities.
Searching for a way out.
Effie continued.
"About fifteen years ago, a group of powerful Sleepers managed to reach this city."
She pointed vaguely toward the distant castle.
"They claid it for themselves. Not because there was a Gateway. Because it was the only place they could survive."
Her smile beca faint.
"Since then, every solstice brings more unlucky people here."
The fire crackled.
Nephis sat motionless.
Only her clenched fists revealed the storm raging beneath her calm exterior.
Cassie took the news far worse.
After all, it was her vision that had guided them here.
Her pale face twisted with pain.
Closing her eyes, she whispered:
"But that's... that's not fair."
Effie stared at her for a mont.
Then she laughed softly.
Not mockingly.
Just sadly.
"When was anything ever fair?"
Nobody had an answer.
Sunny certainly didn't.
Fairness was a comforting story people told themselves.
Reality operated differently.
Reality didn't care.
Reality simply crushed whoever happened to stand in its way.
For a while, silence settled over the rooftop.
Then, surprisingly, Effie's grin returned.
She leaned forward.
"But it's not all bad."
Everyone looked at her.
"At least you t ."
The tall girl pointed proudly at herself.
"You guys are ridiculously lucky."
Sunny blinked.
"What?"
"If you hadn't found a local before climbing down that wall, you'd already be dead."
Nephis narrowed her eyes.
"Why?"
Effie sighed dramatically.
"The Dark City is both the safest and most dangerous place on the Forgotten Shore."
Seeing their confusion, she explained.
"The walls keep the sea monsters out. That's the safe part."
Then her smile vanished.
"The dangerous part is what's already inside."
Sunny felt a chill run down his spine.
Effie pointed toward the ruins.
"Most Nightmare Creatures here are Fallen."
Nobody moved.
For a second, Sunny thought he had misheard.
Fallen?
Not Awakened.
Not Dormant.
Fallen.
His blood turned cold.
A single Awakened Demon had nearly killed them all.
A Fallen creature would erase them from existence before they even realized they were under attack.
His mind flashed back to the countless shadows moving among the ruined buildings.
The distant shapes he had glimpsed earlier.
The silhouettes hidden in the darkness.
His stomach dropped.
'Don't tell ...'
Every one of them?
Every single one?
Elysia visibly paled.
"You're joking."
Effie didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
Even Senrix's expression hardened.
The armored Sleeper slowly looked toward the city below.
"I counted dozens."
His voice remained steady.
"If what you're saying is true..."
He didn't finish.
He didn't need to.
Everyone understood.
They should have died already.
Effie nodded.
"Exactly."
She flashed a grin.
"Which is why eting was basically a miracle."
The tall girl pointed at herself again.
"If you'd climbed down before I spotted you, the Fallen Ones would already be chewing on your souls."
Sunny wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry.
Effie seed completely unaware of how horrifying her words were.
"There aren't many hunters willing to travel this far from the castle."
She shrugged.
"Finding soone like was probably your only chance."
Elysia forced a weak smile.
"When you put it that way, I guess we should thank you."
"You absolutely should."
Effie grinned.
"I saved your lives."
Then she reached for one of the roasting skewers.
The sll of cooked at drifted through the air.
"Anyway, enough depressing stuff."
She held it up proudly.
"Want so?"
Nobody answered.
The absurdity of the situation was almost overwhelming.
They had just learned they were trapped forever in a nightmare beyond human comprehension.
And now Effie was offering barbecue.
Nephis ignored the at entirely.
"If there is no Gateway," she asked quietly, "why didn't you leave?"
Effie blinked.
"Leave?"
She genuinely looked confused.
"Leave and go where?"
Turning the skewers to prevent them from burning, she sighed.
"You've crossed the Labyrinth."
The smile disappeared from her face.
"So you already know."
She pointed into the darkness beyond the city.
"Months of coral."
Then toward the horizon.
"Months of cursed sea."
Another direction.
"The sa thing."
Her voice beca grim.
"You can't walk across it."
"You can't swim through it."
"You can't fly over it either."
She shook her head.
"There are things hiding in the clouds that make Fallen monsters look friendly."
A heavy silence followed.
"People tried leaving."
Effie's gaze drifted toward the distant castle.
"Lots of people."
Then she quietly added:
"They're all dead now."
The fire crackled.
Nobody spoke.
The last fragnts of hope slowly crumbled away.
For the first ti since arriving at the Forgotten Shore, Sunny truly understood where they were.
Not a forgotten region.
Not a dangerous frontier.
Not a place waiting to be conquered.
A prison.
An endless prison surrounded by monsters, darkness, and death.
And sohow...
They had only just arrived.
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