While Neph and Cassie anxiously waited for Effie's response, Sunny just stared at his shadow, hoping to find so sympathy.
Sadly, there wasn't any to be found. The shadow simply stared back at him, full of jubilant gloating, as if it could already tell how this was going to go.
'Traitor,' Sunny thought. 'I knew I couldn't trust you.'
anwhile, Senrix and Elysia were happily munching on food they had sohow, in so way, managed to get from sowhere — Sunny had no idea where — completely unbothered by everything happening in front of them. Honestly, it was almost impressive how little they cared.
Effie, anwhile, blinked a couple of tis and looked at them with a strange expression, as if she were trying to decide whether they were joking or simply insane.
'That's right. Run while you can…'
Then she threw her head back and laughed out loud.
"Oh! Oh, gods! Did you really?! This is priceless! I wish I'd seen their faces!"
Sunny watched her with his mouth wide open. That was not the reaction he had been expecting. He had braced himself for anger, maybe even fear, but not this — not pure, unfiltered delight.
'Crazy. They're all crazy. I'm surrounded by crazy people.'
When Effie finally finished laughing, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye, she glanced at Changing Star with a dark but gleeful expression.
"Alright, you've proven your point. But there's sothing you should know. Back when I refused to join the Host, Gunlaug made it very clear that if he couldn't have , no one else would, either. Ever since then, any group that dared invite to join them ended up regretting that decision sooner or later. If you hire as your guide, you'll be putting yourselves squarely in his crosshairs. Are you sure you still want to do this?"
So there was more to her story after all. No wonder she had been so solitary.
In the silence that followed, Sunny was the first to speak. His voice ca out bitter and dejected, almost resigned:
"I an… it's a bit late to start worrying about that now. Don't you think?"
***
The next morning, they were preparing to go on their first hunt. A small crowd of slum dwellers gathered to see them off, their dark, hollow eyes burning with a strange mixture of hope and quiet anguish.
By now, the story of Changing Star's clever ruse and her supposedly heroic battle against the villainous Pathfinder Andel had already spread through the entire settlent, growing more exaggerated and unbelievable with every retelling. Now, these people had co to see her with their own eyes, as though confirming a rumor could sohow make their lives a little less miserable.
They seed especially fascinated by the Starlight Legion Armor and the symbol engraved on its breastplate. Who would have thought that the mory of a simple carapace centurion could have such an effect on the people of the Dark City?
Sunny was not happy about any of it.
The previous evening, he'd had a chance to ask Nephis a few questions after they returned to their lodge. In the end, though, he kept most of them to himself, unsure how to put what he was feeling into words. The only thing he ended up asking was how she had managed to defeat her human opponent — soone clearly far stronger than her in raw physical terms — so easily.
Changing Star's answer was simple. She just shrugged and said:
"An old Legacy trick."
Which, sohow, explained everything and absolutely nothing at the sa ti.
Senrix and Elysia announced that they planned to recruit a few other strong Sleepers and form their own hunting group, claiming they intended to go after much, much stronger nightmare creatures. Sunny wasn't sure if that was bravado or genuine ambition, but either way, the two of them seed thrilled at the idea of striking out on their own.
So now the group consisted of just Sunny, Nephis, Cassie, and Effie — two mbers short, with Senrix and Elysia gone their separate way. And with that settled, the four of them were about to head into the Dark City to hunt monsters for the very first ti.
Just as they were ready to set off, a sudden hum of voices made them all turn around. The slum dwellers stepped aside, parting like a curtain, to let two tall, handso n walk toward them.
Sunny frowned.
'Great. What are they doing here?'
Walking closer, Caster and Eril stopped a few ters away and gave a polite bow.
"Lady Nephis, Huntress Athena, Cassia, Sunny. Good morning to all of you. I, Caster of the Han Li clan, would like to join your hunting party. Will you have ?"
"I would also like to join your hunting group."
For a few monts, everyone went quiet.
Despite Sunny's dislike for the two Legacies, having them on their side would be an incredible boon, and he knew it. Genius-level fighters like Caster were hard to co by anywhere, let alone in a place as desolate as the Forgotten Shore. And a genius assassin-type fighter like Eril was just as rare, even back in the waking world.
He felt torn between resentnt and reluctant relief.
A buzz of whispers rippled through the crowd. People were shocked to see two warriors from the castle volunteering to join an outer settlent cohort — and one with such a fearso reputation, no less!
After a mont, Changing Star simply shrugged.
"If you want."
And just like that, the proud scion of the Han Li clan and the quiet scion of the Durian clan beca the fifth and sixth mbers of their hunting party.
It felt strange, watching their numbers grow after months spent more or less alone in the Labyrinth. Still, Sunny supposed it had been inevitable.
What else had he expected? That it would stay just the five of them forever?
'Stupid…'
Together, the newly ford squad of six Sleepers left the slum of the outer settlent behind and stepped onto the road of white stone leading into the cursed ruins.
…And just like that, the fates of every human in the Dark City were quietly, irreversibly sealed.
The end had begun.
***
Their first hunt turned out to be surprisingly uneventful.
Guided by an experienced pathfinder and aided by Sunny's stealthy shadow, they managed to avoid every Fallen creature along the way and arrived at their destination without a scratch.
There, the group hid among the ruins and waited for their prey to show itself.
The plan of battle had already been discussed beforehand. After Effie described the type of monster they were hunting — along with a detailed rundown of its strengths and weaknesses — Nephis quickly assigned roles to everyone.
Sunny had expected things to play out the sa way they had back in the Labyrinth, but to his surprise, they didn't.
Just like before, Neph would take on most of the risk, luring the enemy out and exposing its weak point. This ti, though, it was Caster who would be the one to capitalize on that opening and deliver the killing blow — not Sunny.
Which made sense, honestly. His Ability wasn't a combat one, not officially. It only made sense to give that role to soone with a genuinely powerful combat Ability, like the one Caster possessed.
And yet, for so reason, Sunny still felt a flicker of anger about it. It felt like he was being quietly replaced.
Not wanting to seem childish, he swallowed the bitterness and said nothing.
When the monster finally appeared, everything went off without a hitch. Nephis and Caster brought it down without sustaining a single injury. Their teamwork, while not exactly effortless, was strangely smooth — probably because they were both Legacies who had gone through similar training.
Sunny, whose job was to step in only if things went wrong, ended up not having to lift a finger.
Eril, who acted as lookout in case any random nightmare creature wandered too close, didn't have to do anything either.
Neither did Effie, who simply stayed close to Cassie in case the blind girl needed protection. Once it was all over, she laughed.
"Ha! That has to be the easiest al I've ever earned!"
Effie's role within the party was still a bit odd. Unlike the others, she hadn't shown any real interest in joining the cohort officially. Instead, she was more of a hired hand — her job was to guide them through the ruins and feed them information, nothing more. She wasn't even expected to fight alongside them.
After the nightmare creature was finally dead, the group quickly butchered it and left the scene of the battle weighed down with at.
By the ti the shadow of the Crimson Spire fell across the Dark City, the cohort was already making its way back toward the marble arch at the base of the hill.
It was around then that sothing unexpected happened — and, fittingly, it was because of Nephis.
After handing over a fair share of the spoils to the energetic huntress, she turned to look at Sunny, Cassie, Eril, and Caster. Then Changing Star said:
"I'd like the four of you to entrust with your share of the at."
'What? What's that about?'
Before Sunny could even open his mouth to ask, Cassie was already smiling.
"Of course, Neph!"
Caster and Eril didn't hesitate either. With a small bow, the two of them nodded in unison.
"As you wish, Lady Nephis."
Sunny ground his teeth together. After that, he'd have looked like a total jerk if he tried to start questioning her now — especially since, technically, he hadn't really done anything except lend his shadow to Effie for the day. It had been Nephis and Caster who actually put their lives on the line.
"…Fine."
Nephis gave them a small nod and continued walking up the white road, the rest of the cohort falling into step behind her.
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