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Chapter 113 - Chapter 113 Survivor

The group managed to reach the bright castle, a few hours after nightfall. Their early rise, that morning, had paid off, and yet, the day was still longer, than any of them had thought, it'd be.

Still, before they could actually get to rest, they decided on gathering all seven shard memories, that very night.

Otherwise, the anticipation would probably eat them all up, and just lose them sleep over.

So, everyone simply headed to the throne room, where a permanent table had been placed, a while ago. It was a bit to the side, to not destroy the image of the bright lord, but was still big enough, for them to have their discussions.

So, when they all stood around the circular table. Indeed, they had gone from a rectangular table, to a circular, after the relations had been somewhat smoothened out.

Next, everyone in possession of any shard memory stepped forward. Sunny, Effie, Nephis, and Seishan were the only ones, so they were the ones closest to the table now.

Sunny summoned his tachi, and the stiletto.

Seishan summoned a graceful war-hammer, with a narrow beak, on one end.

Nephis summoned the simple head-band, with the single gem in its center.

And finally, Effie summoned her bronze spear, the extremely heavy round-shield, as well as… a short, flowing white cloak, which draped itself over Effie's shoulders, as she summoned it.

This had been the memory, she received of the Lord of Death.

Now, they were all gathered.

Dawn, Zenith, Dusk, Midnight, Sunlight, Moonlight, ...and now also Starlight.

Every single shard memory there was to gather, was now presented before the small group of sleepers.

Then, before they even had a chance to say anything, nor even think it, every single memory suddenly became hotter, before they oozed a ghostly, ethereal light. This light, then shot forth, and met with the other six beams of light in the center of the table.

None of the people present were sure, what exactly was happening, but they all, thoroughly intrigued, stepped closer, watching it with their full attention.

Seconds later, seven objects weaved themselves from the very light that had bundled itself, in the middle of the table.

These objects were none other, than seven keys.

Keys forged out of the very same metal, all of the shard memories seemed to be made from, and all of them were engraved with similar star decorations.

"Now… only the winter solstice remains, and then we're going home!" Ray said, earning determined nods from nearly everyone in attendance, before he continued, "First, though, everyone, get some sleep. You all deserve it."

No one objected, and the group quickly dispersed, with some more exhausted than others. Henry, for one could barely keep himself going. So, as a good friend, and since they were neighbors anyway, Ray helped him get to his room.

On the way, he couldn't help it, and let his earlier thought be heard, "You know, you didn't have to use the Flyssa for the fight, right? I agree it harmonies perfectly with your aspect, but… that is against creatures with blood…"

Henry could only shake his hand tiredly, "Yeah yeah, I noticed that…"

Then, finally, they reached their rooms, and both went to sleep.

This time, with no guests.

---

From there, the days practically became a blur. Everyone, regardless of their prior affiliation, worked tirelessly on the preparations for the eventual siege. The artisans were as busy, as never before, receiving countless orders, around the clock.

Kido, herself, looked more dead than alive, during these times, constantly using her aspect, to try and create different plants that would be helpful.

The worst part, though, was that no one really knew what actually awaited them. They all expected to fight against hordes of nightmare creatures, but, everything beyond that, was a complete mystery.

Still, nearly every hunted nightmare creature, was scavenged nearly completely bare, and these resources were put into the making of all kinds of weapons, and armors.

Especially arrows were made in such a bulk that no one even believed, they could all be shot. Still, the 'slavers', aka the Bright Lord and the Council wanted to be better safe than sorry, and many shared that sentiment, which was also the reason, no one was slacking off.

And then, finally, the day of the winter solstice was imminent.

---

"Are you sure that you want to go out there, too?" Henry asked Ray, who was checking his prepared bag.

"Of course, I'm going too. He doesn't even want to go, but still does so, purely because of his ability. What kind of coward would I be, if I didn't do the same thing, if I already have similar methods."

"Then… don't you need some support, tagging along?" This time, it was Gunlaug asking.

Ray could only give both of them a somewhat tired look, though, inwardly he was still glad about their worry, since it reminded himself of his aunt, waiting back in the waking world.

So, while finally completing his last check, he gave them the only real answer, he could think off, "Listen, I may not have the highest attack power, I may not have the most versatile kit, or anything like that, but do you two seriously think, anything can truly kill me, if I don't want that to happen?"

Both thought for a moment, before Henry spoke in a tone between teasing and worry, "Then, what about that one octopus monster, that nearly pulled you into the depths of the dark sea?"

Hearing this one example, Ray could only cough in awkwardness, "That one doesn't count. I didn't yet have my wings, was terribly exhausted, and then there was the biggest reason; it was a fucking CORRUPTED nightmare creature!"

After that, he walked out of his room, and headed to the meeting point of their entire group, where Kai and he would head out, at midnight, looking for any new arrivals on the forgotten shore.

Upon reaching the room, in one of the highest towers of the Bright Castle, the few people needed to be there, were also there.

The charming archer looked a bit uneasy, but there was still determination in his eyes. This only intensified, when he noticed Ray.

This room was mainly chosen, since it held one of the only balconies that were available in the entirety of the castle.

No one spoke many words, but the time was ticking, and Kai and Ray were ready. So, even if it was dark outside, and they still had light inside of the room, they opened the doors, leading out to the balcony.

Letting light escape the confines of the castle would've been unthinkable, just a few months ago, and yet, here they were.

Ray and Kai walked out, standing there, with their bags fastened, to not be lost.

Besides them, only Nephis was standing on the balcony itself, all the others were in the room.

"Remember, if it follows the same rhythm, it had shown in the beginning, then there might be 14 sleepers that will be forced into this hell tonight. If there are any you can find, try to bring them back. Though… it would be probably for the best, if there are none, at all."

She spoke with a clear tone, yet her words trailed off at the end.

"Yeah, we got it! We're going to search as much as we can, until we'll return in a week, at the latest." Ray waved her off, acting indifferent, even though, he knew that wether they would find people could change their entire plans, going forward.

Nephis only nodded, before stepping back inside. There were some last, short farewells, before they closed the door, and reinforced it again, to keep most of the light inside.

Being left outside there, Kai and Ray threw each other a quick glance, as long as there was still a bit of light, and then, after putting his hand on his friend's shoulder once, Kai rose into the air, and disappeared into the night.

Ray was just a step behind, well, a flap of his wings.

And so, both of them disappeared from the dark city, searching for any sleepers that might have the misfortune of arriving in this hell.

Of course, they weren't searching in the same regions, but had previously chosen parts where each of them would head to.

---

It had been four days since they had started their search operations, and Ray was currently far in the south-eastern reaches of the crimson labyrinth, which would also be his last place to look, since he still needed to get back in time.

Until then, he had found absolutely nothing. No sleepers, not even signs of any human having been there. It seemed, the best scenario had actually happened, and no one had been brought here this year, by the spell.

After a couple more hours of searching, Ray found it unnecessary to continue, and simply changed his direction to head back to the dark city. If there was nothing, then he would only further waste his time.

His rations also wouldn't last him forever, either. Had he found someone, he would've needed to return even sooner, anyway.

So, his way back started, on the fourth day, around noon.

---

"I should reach the castle in the morning, right…?" Ray wondered out loud, as he flew through the skies of the forgotten shore.

Honestly, these last few days weren't as bad, as he had fought initially. It was rather peaceful, actually. You did not have to worry about anything, just needed to enjoy the view, while flying above it.

Sure, the food wasn't the best, but he had the means to always hunt for anything fresh, should he need that, so Ray couldn't really argue with it, either.

He was in the middle of his daydreams, as he was watching the rather nice landscape.

The tall crimson coral-like walls. The many nightmare creatures living their lives. The woman running for her life.

"…!"

Nearly not noticing it, Ray made an abrupt stop in the air, and snapped his head, back to where he had just seen something.

There, a lone human girl, not much older than 15, maybe, was running from a couple of Carapace Scavengers.

Honestly, Ray couldn't believe his eyes. Maybe he also didn't want to. Still, in the next moment, he dove down, heading directly towards the younger sleeper, and when he was close, scooped her right up.

"Wah! No! I'm not tasty, or anything!" She tried getting out of his grip, while shouting in panic.

"Do you seriously think, a nightmare creature would listen to you…?" He asked her, in a deadpan voice, which seemed to shock her once more.

"So, you won't eat me?" She asked hesitantly.

"Nope. Humans don't really taste good, you know."

"You've eaten humans before?!" The girl was now probably even more scared.

"No…! It was a joke, for fuck sake!"

Now, both of them had a deadpan look on their faces, as they couldn't believe the other's audacity.

Still, with nowhere to put her safely down, he simply continued flying, acting as if he was just carrying a wet pack of clothes.

"Ehm, could you let me go, now? Being carried like this isn't really comfortable…"

Ray just shrugged, with a mischievous grin on his face, "Alright."

Then, he let her go, as she had asked for.

"Waaaah! Please catch me!" She screamed, the very second he let her go, as she was plummeting to the ground, quickly approaching it.

Merely a second, before she hit the ground, did Ray catch her again. Grabbing her once more, on the back of her leather armor.

"So, still uncomfortable?" He asked her, to which she hastily shook her head.

"That's better. Now, just hold on for a while, we should reach a vantage point soon. We can rest there for a moment, before we continue. *sigh*"

Ending the sentence with a sigh came out, as somewhat different that he might've wanted it to, but he couldn't help it. Her appearance might as well have just cost them a few more days, if not even weeks that they needed to delay.

Though, Ray couldn't help but wonder, where she must've been this whole time. His entire sector had been clean, before. And, when their estimates were right, then there must be thirteen more people somewhere on the forgotten shore.

If they weren't in Kai's sector, then they could've just as well appeared near one of the two zones, they had designated as death areas, beforehand.

The crimson spire, as well as some weird tree.

That one in particular, was highlighted by Nephis, Cassie, and Sunny.

Of course, there was still the possibility that she was the only one, who was brought here, this year, but this view seemed to optimistic.

Nevertheless, he continued flying, while thinking about this some more, even if it did not matter too much, since any real decision would be made, back in the bright castle anyway.

After about thirty minutes, they finally reached the vantage point he meant.

It was merely a tall pillar, which seemed to be close to falling over, but was better, than nothing, and the dark sea wouldn't come for a few more hours.

When they landed on it, the girl in an overly-happy moment even went as far as kissing the ground, only to spit out the dirt that clung to her lips afterwards.

Ray sighed again, before taking out some of the dried meat and some stored water, from his bag, and handed it to her.

She greedily took it, and devoured the meat in a heartbeat, nearly choking on it, because of the speed. Thankfully, she had her water.

"So, what is your name?" He asked her eventually, when she had fully devoured the meat, and drunk the water.

"Skyla."

Ray looked at her weirdly, earning a similar one from her, "What?! Is my name not good enough for you?"

"The opposite, actually. It seems too good for someone like you…" He muttered, while another mischievous smirk made itself known on his face.

"And, what is your name… Angel man?!" She asked in a challenging tone.

"Don't say that word! *Sigh* Ray… or Raphael. Even the spell isn't sure anymore."

"So, what kind of place is that? And, are there any other humans here? I haven't seen a single soul, around for days." Skyla changed the topic.

"We call it; 'Forgotten shore', since it isn't on any human map, of the dream realm. And as for your second question, the 'we' was already a give-away, but yeah. There is a community of a couple hundred humans living in this place. Well, surviving."

Ray paused for a moment, letting her take these information in first, before he continued, "Though, we already plan on finally getting out of here. We are already in the last steps, to get it done, too."

Skyla looked at him, her green eyes wide open, "Seriously?! There are hundreds of humans living in this place? And, what does it mean; 'this place isn't on any human map'?"

He could only shrug, "What else, this place lays beyond the hollow mountains, even further north, than any human ever traveled. And, yeah. A few hundred sleepers live inside a castle, in a city, rather close by. That was also where I was headed back to."

Her wide eyes seemed to sparkle, "A castle? Then, there must be a king, right? How is he?"

Ray was getting a small headache. The black-haired girl before him seemed to concentrate on the wrong parts of what he was telling her.

"Well, the king huh? As far as I know, he likes wearing his armor, has something akin to a crown on his head, most of the time, and also has two wings on his back…"

Skyla listened intently, until he said that last part, where she gave him another deadpan look, "You want me to believe that you're the king, of this place, housing hundreds of sleepers, and you just casually fly around, in your freetime?"

"Believe what you want. Now, come on. We're heading out again!" Ray urged her.

"Alright alright, but can you at least carry me a bit more gracefully, this time? I'm still a young lady, you know, waiting for my prince."

"…"

The next moment, he once again grabbed her by her armors collar, and went off.

"Aw, come on!"

'This will be a long way back…'

---

The next morning, he finally arrived back in the dark city. Skyla was still asleep. Somewhere along the way, he couldn't handle her constant nagging, and just carried her in a princess carry, afterwards.

He just wanted his peaceful silence back, and that was the only way.

When he eventually reached the same balcony he had started from, a week ago, everyone else was already gathered there, Kai, too, was back already.

Though, now, all eyes were on him, and the girl in his arms.

"Now that makes it more difficult…"

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