Sunny gritted his teeth.
"So what? You people just hide behind those walls and wait for death to finally catch up with you?"
The beautiful huntress blinked once before bursting into laughter.
"Of course not, doofus!"
Her carefree smile lingered for a mont, but then her expression shifted ever so slightly.
The laughter disappeared from her hazel eyes.
When she spoke again, her voice carried an unexpected heaviness.
"Most of us can't even enter the castle in the first place."
Sunny frowned.
"What do you an?"
Effie shrugged and tossed another piece of monster at over the fire.
"The castle belongs to Gunlaug. If you want to live inside those walls, enjoy protection, sleep safely at night, and eat food without worrying about being torn apart by Nightmare Creatures, you have to pay tribute."
Her smile beca thinner.
"One soul shard every week."
For a few monts, silence settled around the campfire.
Sunny wasn't surprised.
Disappointed?
Yes.
Angry?
Maybe.
Surprised?
Not at all.
It seed that even in this forsaken hellscape, humanity remained humanity.
No matter how terrible the situation beca, there would always be those standing at the top and those being crushed beneath them.
A familiar darkness stirred sowhere deep within Sunny's heart.
He had almost forgotten that feeling.
The feeling he used to carry every day back in the outskirts.
A feeling made of bitterness, resentnt, and helpless rage.
Slowly, a corner of his lips curled upward.
"What happens if soone can't pay?"
Effie looked at him as though the answer was obvious.
"What do you think happens?"
She poked the fire with a stick.
"You stay outside."
Her gaze drifted toward the distant silhouette of the Bright Castle.
"There's a settlent beneath the walls. If you're lucky, you find food. If you're unlucky, sothing crawls out of the darkness and eats you alive."
Her shoulders rose and fell.
"That's pretty much it."
Sunny stared into the flas.
"And how exactly are people supposed to get soul shards in this place?"
Effie pointed toward the pile of corpses surrounding their camp.
"By hunting."
Her tone beca matter-of-fact.
"There are plenty of Awakened creatures wandering around the Dark City. If you're skilled enough, lucky enough, and not completely suicidal, you can kill them."
She paused.
"The hard part is surviving long enough to find them."
The huntress leaned back.
"Gunlaug's hunters usually move in organized groups. They have experienced scouts, pathfinders, fighters, and people who know every inch of the city."
"They bring back food, soul shards, mories, materials, and information."
Then her smile faded.
"Independent hunters don't usually last long."
The crackling of the fire filled the silence.
"Most die."
Her voice beca quieter.
"So disappear."
"And so beco desperate enough to find other ways of earning shards."
Sunny glanced toward the enormous monster corpses lying nearby.
Each one looked dangerous enough to kill a Sleeper several tis over.
"What about you?"
Effie blinked.
"?"
"How many hunts have you survived?"
The tall huntress scratched her cheek.
"Hmm."
Then she started counting on her fingers.
"One... two... seven... twelve... uh..."
She paused.
Then frowned.
Then started counting again.
Sunny stared.
After a while, Effie finally sighed.
"You know what? I honestly don't rember anymore."
She grinned.
"Sowhere around one or two hundred."
Silence.
Sunny nearly choked.
Two hundred?
Even Nephis looked surprised.
Cassie, sitting quietly beside Elysia, visibly stiffened.
Only Senrix didn't react.
Or rather...
He reacted differently.
The ash-haired Sleeper simply glanced at Effie for a mont before returning his attention to the fire.
His crimson eyes narrowed slightly.
"Strong."
That single word carried more weight than any praise Sunny could have given.
Effie blinked.
Then laughed.
"Coming from you, I'll take that as a complint."
Sunny stared at her.
A hundred hunts?
Two hundred?
That wasn't impressive anymore.
That was absurd.
Most Sleepers struggled to survive a single encounter with an Awakened creature.
Yet sohow this giant woman had spent years hunting them alone inside a city filled with Fallen abominations.
Suddenly, her cheerful personality beca much more terrifying.
Sunny frowned.
"If you've killed that many creatures, then why aren't you living inside the castle?"
Effie imdiately groaned.
"Oh, not this again."
Sunny crossed his arms.
"Yes, this again."
The huntress sighed dramatically.
"Let's just say I don't like the atmosphere."
"The atmosphere?"
"The people."
"The people?"
"The politics."
"The politics?"
"The king."
"The king?"
"The idiots."
Sunny blinked.
Effie pointed toward him.
"Exactly. You get it."
Sunny didn't get it.
Not even a little.
Beside him, Elysia suddenly giggled.
"You're surprisingly picky for soone who lives in ruins."
Effie imdiately pointed back.
"And you're surprisingly cheerful for soone who lives in ruins."
"Fair."
The two girls exchanged grins.
For a brief mont, the oppressive atmosphere lightened.
Then Nephis spoke.
"What are the other ways to earn shards?"
Her voice was calm.
Too calm.
Effie imdiately noticed it.
So did Sunny.
So did Senrix.
The huntress was silent for several seconds.
Then she sighed.
"There are a few."
She glanced toward Nephis.
"If you have a useful Aspect Ability, you can beco a craftsman, blacksmith, healer, or artifex."
Then her expression beca darker.
"If not..."
Her gaze shifted between Nephis and Elysia.
"Well."
She scratched her head awkwardly.
"Pretty girls have options too."
Sunny imdiately disliked where this conversation was heading.
Effie continued anyway.
"So beco servants."
Her voice grew quieter.
"So join Gunlaug's household."
"And so beco part of his harem."
The atmosphere around the campfire instantly dropped several degrees.
White sparks danced within Nephis's grey eyes.
Elysia's smile vanished completely.
Even Cassie lowered her head slightly.
anwhile—
The temperature around Senrix abruptly increased.
Flas briefly flickered around his gauntlet.
Not enough for anyone unfamiliar with him to notice.
But Elysia noticed imdiately.
She gently nudged his arm.
The flas disappeared.
Senrix exhaled slowly.
Then returned to silently staring at the fire.
Nephis spoke.
"So your choices are to beco a soldier, a servant, a possession... or die."
Effie grimaced.
"When you put it like that, it sounds awful."
Nephis looked at her.
"It is awful."
The huntress sighed.
"Fair enough."
Then she shrugged.
"Still, nobody forces anyone."
Sunny nearly laughed.
Nobody forces anyone.
Right.
Because starving to death outside the walls was apparently a choice.
Nephis lowered her gaze.
"So why hasn't anyone killed him?"
The question hung heavily in the air.
Effie stared at her.
Then suddenly burst out laughing.
Not because the question was funny.
Because it sounded familiar.
"You know," she said while shaking her head, "I asked the exact sa thing when I first got here."
Sunny imdiately felt uneasy.
Because he recognized that look on Nephis's face.
The sa expression she wore before challenging impossible enemies.
The sa expression she wore before fighting the Carapace Centurion.
The sa expression she wore before fighting the Carapace Demon.
The expression that basically translated to:
I wonder how difficult it would be to kill this person.
Effie sighed.
"Gunlaug isn't so evil tyrant sitting on a throne all day."
She poked the fire.
"He's actually one of the few reasons humanity is still alive in this city."
That caught everyone's attention.
Even Senrix looked up.
The huntress continued.
"Every month, he sends aid to the settlents."
"He organizes hunting expeditions."
"He trains new Sleepers."
"He shares resources."
Her voice beca quieter.
"And every year..."
She paused.
"Every year he leads an assault toward the Crimson Spire."
Silence.
Cassie tilted her head.
"The Spire?"
Effie nodded.
"The center of this cursed region."
Her smile disappeared.
"The place everyone believes holds the key to escaping the Forgotten Shore."
Sunny froze.
Escaping.
That single word made everyone's attention sharpen.
Effie continued.
"Every year he gathers fifty of the strongest fighters available."
"They march toward the Spire."
"They fight."
"They die."
"They fail."
The fire crackled softly.
"Last year he lost the woman he loved."
For the first ti since eting her, Effie's voice sounded genuinely sad.
"He ca back."
"She didn't."
Nobody spoke.
Even Elysia's usual cheerful deanor faded.
After everything they had gone through, losing soone close felt painfully familiar.
Finally, Effie sighed.
"Gunlaug is an idiot."
Sunny blinked.
"What?"
"He's an idiot."
The huntress shrugged.
"A stubborn idiot."
"A suicidal idiot."
"A hopeful idiot."
"But he's still trying."
Her gaze drifted toward the distant castle.
"And right now, he's the only leader this city has."
Silence followed.
Then Effie pointed at Nephis.
"So no."
"You are not killing Gunlaug."
Nephis didn't answer.
Which sohow worried Sunny even more.
Effie groaned.
"See? That's exactly the face I made too."
Sunny buried his face in his hands.
"This is going to beco a problem."
"Yep."
"A huge problem."
"Yep."
"You know she's still considering it."
"Definitely."
anwhile, Nephis remained completely silent.
Which was basically a confirmation.
Elysia sighed dramatically.
"Oh, here we go again."
Cassie nodded.
"Again?"
Elysia pointed toward Nephis.
"She sees impossible things and imdiately decides they're possible."
Sunny imdiately pointed toward Senrix.
"And him?"
Elysia looked toward the ash-haired Sleeper.
Senrix remained silent for several seconds.
Then calmly said:
"If she's fighting."
A pause.
"I'm fighting."
Sunny groaned.
"Of course."
Naturally.
The suicidal duo remained perfectly consistent.
Effie looked between Nephis and Senrix.
Then slowly buried her face in her hands.
"Oh no."
Elysia imdiately laughed.
"What?"
"I just realized there's two of them."
"Yep."
"May fate have rcy on ."
"Fate won't."
Even Cassie smiled slightly.
The huntress stared at the cohort.
Then sighed.
"You people are insane."
"Probably."
"Definitely."
"Without question."
Effie pointed at the at.
"Just eat."
Sunny imdiately obeyed.
That was the smartest advice he'd heard all day.
Taking a large piece of sizzling monster at, he handed it to Cassie first before grabbing another for himself.
Elysia accepted one as well, thanking him with a bright smile before imdiately sharing part of it with Senrix, who accepted it without complaint.
The small interaction made Cassie smile faintly.
Nephis eventually accepted a piece too.
For a few minutes, nobody spoke.
They simply ate.
The fire crackled.
The night remained calm.
And yet, despite the warmth of the campfire and the comfort of a full stomach, Sunny couldn't shake a growing feeling of unease.
Because he knew Nephis.
And Nephis knew only one direction.
Forward.
No matter how impossible the obstacle.
No matter how powerful the enemy.
No matter how hopeless the situation.
And judging by the cold determination hidden behind her calm expression—
The future ruler of the Bright Castle had just gained another problem.
His na was Gunlaug.
And unfortunately for him...
Nephis had already started thinking.
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