The next morning, the group prepared to leave the granite tower.
Before they departed, Effie gathered all five Sleepers near the entrance and crossed her arms.
"Alright, listen up, doofuses. Once we leave this tower, you follow exactly. No wandering off. No touching suspicious things. No unnecessary noise. No bleeding. No dying. And most importantly..."
She pointed at each of them one by one.
"Don't think too loudly."
Sunny blinked.
"...What?"
Effie sighed dramatically.
"So creatures can hear thoughts."
The group fell silent.
Then she continued.
"Others sll emotions."
Cassie's expression imdiately beca worried.
"They can... sll emotions?"
Effie nodded.
"Fear, panic, despair. The stronger the emotion, the easier it is for them to find you."
Sunny frowned.
"How exactly are we supposed to stop thinking and feeling?"
The huntress grinned.
"Math."
"...What?"
"Do math problems."
Sunny stared at her.
"You can't be serious."
"I'm completely serious."
She pointed at her head.
"Nothing kills fear faster than trying to calculate fractions."
Elysia imdiately laughed.
"Oh, that's terrible advice."
"It's great advice."
"No, it's horrible."
"It works."
Senrix rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Two plus two equals four."
Effie nodded approvingly.
"See? He's already surviving."
A few seconds passed.
Then Senrix added:
"Four plus four equals eight."
"Remarkable."
Sunny buried his face in his hands.
"I can't believe we're trusting our lives to these people."
Through the Shadow Bond, Elysia imdiately responded.
*"You're one of these people."*
*"Unfortunately."*
*"You love us."*
*"I tolerate you."*
*"That's not what your soul says."*
Sunny instantly regretted having a soul bond.
A soft laugh escaped Cassie.
Even Nephis looked slightly amused.
Seeing their reactions, Effie grinned wider.
"Good. Keep talking like that. Better than thinking about monsters."
Then she glanced toward Sunny.
"Just don't get too excited walking behind ."
Sunny nearly choked.
"What does that even an?!"
Elysia imdiately burst into laughter.
Cassie covered her mouth.
Even Senrix failed to suppress a grin.
Nephis calmly looked away.
Which sohow made everything worse.
"Can we leave now?" Sunny asked.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because your face is funny."
Sunny groaned.
Monts later, Effie walked toward the enormous granite slab blocking the entrance.
Without warning, she placed both hands against it.
Then pushed.
The colossal stone shifted.
Sunny's jaw dropped.
The massive slab weighed several tons at least.
Yet Effie moved it as though she was opening a stubborn door.
The grinding sound echoed through the tower.
Sunlight poured inside.
For a mont, nobody spoke.
Then Senrix whistled.
"Alright, that's terrifying."
Effie looked pleased.
"I know."
"How?"
"My Aspect."
Sunny looked at her.
"Physical enhancent?"
The huntress nodded.
"Everything."
She flexed her arm.
"Strength."
Then another finger.
"Speed."
Another.
"Durability."
Another.
"Recovery."
Then she sighed.
"And unfortunately..."
Her expression darkened.
"Hunger."
The amusent vanished from the group.
Sunny understood imdiately.
His smile faded.
Growing up in the outskirts, hunger wasn't so abstract concept.
It was pain.
It was desperation.
It was waking up wondering if there would be food tomorrow.
Effie noticed his expression and shrugged.
"Yep."
For once, she wasn't smiling.
"If I stop eating, things get bad very quickly."
Sunny nodded slowly.
For perhaps the first ti, he realized that Effie's cheerful attitude wasn't because her life was easy.
It was because she actively chose to stay cheerful despite it.
The realization earned another asure of respect from him.
Soon afterward, they left the tower.
The Dark City greeted them once again.
Ancient ruins stretched endlessly in every direction.
Broken roads.
Collapsed buildings.
Silent towers.
Crumbling statues.
Everything looked dead.
Yet sohow, Sunny felt more threatened here than he had in the Labyrinth.
At least monsters in the Labyrinth usually announced their presence before trying to kill you.
The Dark City felt alive.
Watching.
Waiting.
Effie imdiately took the lead.
The journey quickly beca far more complicated than Sunny expected.
Sotis they traveled through streets.
Sotis through abandoned houses.
Sotis across rooftops.
At one point they climbed through a broken window, crossed three different buildings, and exited through a collapsed ceiling.
Sunny was completely lost after the first hour.
anwhile, Effie moved with absolute confidence.
She knew every turn.
Every shortcut.
Every safe path.
Every danger.
At one point she suddenly froze.
Without explanation, she shoved everyone into a ruined building.
A few monts later, sothing enormous passed through a nearby street.
Nobody saw it clearly.
Yet the sound alone was enough to make Sunny sweat.
After it disappeared, Effie casually continued walking.
"See?"
Sunny stared.
"See what?"
"We didn't die."
Elysia nodded.
"That's usually a good sign."
Senrix raised a hand.
"I personally enjoy not dying."
Cassie smiled.
"I think everyone enjoys not dying."
Nephis simply said:
"Keep moving."
The journey continued.
As the hours passed, Sunny noticed signs of Effie's preparations everywhere.
Wooden planks connecting rooftops.
Hidden pathways.
Safe resting points.
Routes that bypassed monster territories.
Years of experience had transford the city into sothing she could navigate almost instinctively.
Sunny found himself increasingly impressed.
Not because she was strong.
But because she had survived.
Alone.
For years.
That seed almost impossible now.
Especially when he looked at his own group.
Cassie walked beside Elysia, using her guidance whenever the terrain beca dangerous.
The pink-haired girl never seed bothered by it.
Sotis she warned Cassie about obstacles before they appeared.
Other tis she simply chatted endlessly to keep everyone's spirits up.
anwhile, Senrix constantly drifted around the formation.
Sotis at the front.
Sotis at the rear.
Always watching.
Always ready.
Whenever soone stumbled, he noticed imdiately.
Whenever Effie signaled danger, he was already moving.
Sunny suddenly realized sothing.
Effie survived alone because she had no choice.
The five of them survived because they had each other.
The difference was enormous.
As evening approached, they finally saw it.
The castle.
Everyone fell silent.
Even Effie.
A massive hill rose above the city.
Atop it stood a structure so enormous that it seed capable of touching the sky itself.
The sight stole Sunny's breath.
At the foot of the hill stood a pristine white marble arch.
Unlike everything else in the Dark City, it remained untouched by ti.
No cracks.
No weathering.
No signs of decay.
It looked as though it had been built yesterday.
Passing beneath it, they followed the winding road upward.
As they climbed, Effie explained the castle's history.
Many Nightmare Creatures avoided the hill entirely.
Nobody knew why.
The first Sleepers had discovered the place centuries ago.
And according to old stories, they had even killed a Fallen Beast called the Spire ssenger inside the throne room.
The climb seed endless.
Yet eventually they reached the summit.
And finally saw the castle properly.
Sunny stopped walking.
So did everyone else.
The structure before them wasn't rely a castle.
It was a mountain.
A city.
A monunt.
White marble towers pierced the heavens.
Massive bridges connected distant sections.
Countless spires rose into the sky.
Beauty and strength existed in perfect harmony.
For a mont, Sunny understood why people still called this place the Bright Castle.
Then he noticed the skulls.
Human skulls.
Hundreds of them.
Hanging above the gates.
The atmosphere imdiately soured.
"Well," Senrix said.
"There goes the welcoming atmosphere."
Elysia sighed.
"I was just about to complint the architecture too."
Below the walls stretched another sight.
A settlent.
A miserable collection of huts made from rubble, wood, and monster hides.
Sunny's expression darkened.
The sll hit him first.
Then the appearance.
Thin people.
Tired faces.
Worn clothing.
Desperate eyes.
It reminded him of ho.
The outskirts.
The slums.
The place he had fought so hard to leave behind.
Only sohow this version was worse.
Sunny laughed bitterly.
"Unbelievable."
"What?" Elysia asked.
"I crossed an ocean."
He pointed toward the settlent.
"And sohow ended up back ho."
Nobody laughed.
Because everyone understood.
Even Senrix.
Especially Senrix.
Nephis silently studied the settlent.
Cassie listened to the sounds around them.
Elysia's smile weakened.
For a few monts, nobody spoke.
Finally, Nephis turned to Effie.
"What should we do now?"
The huntress shrugged.
"Find an empty hut before sunset."
Then she pointed toward the castle.
"With two shards, two people can enter."
Her expression beca awkward.
"But one person would have to stay outside."
Silence followed.
Sunny glanced at the two soul shards.
Then at Nephis.
Then at Cassie.
Then at Elysia and Senrix.
A few months ago, the answer would have been obvious.
Now?
Not so much.
Because they weren't just traveling companions anymore.
They were a cohort.
A family forged by hardship.
Nobody wanted to leave anyone behind.
Fortunately, nobody spoke imdiately.
Effie stretched.
"Anyway, I'm going ho."
She yawned.
"I'm hungry."
Senrix imdiately pointed at her.
"You're always hungry."
"Correct."
"You were hungry while eating."
"Also correct."
Elysia laughed.
Cassie smiled.
Even Nephis looked slightly amused.
Effie grinned.
"See? You people will be fine."
Then she waved.
"Try not to die before tomorrow."
With that, the towering huntress walked away.
The five Sleepers stood silently beneath the shadow of the Bright Castle.
At long last, they had reached their destination.
Yet sohow...
The journey felt far from over.
After a long silence, Nephis looked down at the two soul shards resting in her palm.
The setting sun reflected in her grey eyes.
Around her stood Sunny, Cassie, Elysia, and Senrix.
Five people.
Two shards.
One difficult decision.
And for the first ti since arriving at the castle, nobody knew what to say.
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