At first there was just an oppressive darkness. Then, suddenly, it was illuminated by a pale white flame. The flame grew in intensity and radiated burning heat around it. Before long it lit up the whole of the gothic hall, its tall pillars and sculptures made of black stone. Sharp shadows danced on the walls. In only a couple of seconds the hall erupted with clashes of metal, their loud ringing echoing from the ceiling and the floor.
Someone watching from above could now see a beautiful but harrowing battle taking place. A tall and imposing silhouet of the black knight clad in his impregnable armor faced off against three opponents. One of them was an elegant statue carved from stone, with bright crimson eyes burning behind the visor of its helmet. One of them was a tall but lithe woman that moved with an effortless precision and fluidity, her skin radiating white light. And one of them was a small, shadowy figure with crown on its head.
Well, actually there was the fourth fighter, too. The elegant flying rapier that fluttered around the black knight, trying to stab him in the eyes.
If only I could be of help... Kai lampooned. He was sitting atop one of the massive stone beams spanning from the one side of the hall to another. With her was also Cassie, dangling her legs over the edge of the beam like she was on a lovely stroll around the countryside. The whole fight had been her idea, and she seemed certain that her friends would prevail. Which, as Kai looked down to the ground, he was starting to believe as well. As crazy as it sounded, the trio was actually putting the devil on the back foot.
And I might just need to stop calling things like this crazy, Kai sighed. Otherwise I'll just sound like a broken machine.
"Don't worry", Cassie whispered. "They're going to win. I know it."
"I'm not worrying", Kai whispered back and cringed immediately. Good thing Cass didn't have his Flaw.
"Good... "
Cassie resumed her previous position, sitting far too carelessly for someone who had traveled through the whole of Forgotten Shore and been accustomed to its horrors. Maybe she just thought he would catch her if she fell (at thought that warmed Kai, for some reason). Maybe she just knew she would not fall.
Not for the first time, Kai wondered what was going on behind those blue eyes.
At first he had thought the girl to be — well, helpless, only surviving through sheer luck of finding two ridiculously strong sleepers to carry her along. And that was not entirely false thing to say. She certainly wouldn't have made it out alive had she had to travel on her own. But the same thing could be said about Sunny and Nephis, too. And even though Cassie was not a fighter, Kai could not shake off the feeling that her powers were equally impressive to that of her friends. They were just different. And of course Cassie was not in any way weak. If anything Kai admired her mental strength, being able to live on despite the most dire of circumstances. He doubted he would have feared as well.
That led Kai to wonder where exactly did he fit in Nephis's cohort. The result of the reflection was diheartening — he was undoubtedly the weakest among them. Any one of the hunters in the city would have been a better candidate than he save for his fortunate Aspect. He was having difficult time buying the idea that another version of him had become a saint.
Maybe that had not actually been him, but rather an alternate version of him, someone stronger and more determined. Right now Kai just wanted to go home, enjoy life and maybe protect those closest to him. Who could ever become a saint with an attitude like that?
Kai sighed again and looked down. Something was happening — the dreadful knight had somehow discarded its armor and was now only a cloud of deep darkness, vaguely in a shape of a man, from which two bright red eyes burned.
In the next second he had to actually catch Cassie in order to prevent her from falling down. That was because of the roar that came from below made her literally fall over the edge of the beam. Kai himself might have fallen with her in panic, but luckily he just floated in the air, sitting as comfortably as he had on the stone platform. At the same time his eyes searched for the fighters. He just managed to see Sunny's echo delivering the final blow directly in the heart of dark creature.
It was over.
How did that happen?
One doesn't simply kill a fallen devil... he would have said a day earlier. But he supposed Nephis existed outside boundaries like that, being a former sovereign. Sunny as well, even though he didn't have the memories of his time as one. He rubbed his eyes and looked at the partners-in-crime. Nephis was appearently checking to see if Sunny had sustained wounds during the battle, whereas Sunny himself looked ready to bolt to the nearest door.
"What did I say?" Cassie said suddenly. "They are fine, aren't they? Oh, and by the way... " Kai frowned, looking at the seer who was currently smiling smugly. "Could you perhaps put me back down?"
*******
The rest of the day was spent resting and recovering. They were confined within the base and had nothing good to do — not a great situation. Kai didn't mind relaxing with friends — and he had without knowing started regarding other members of the cohort as those. But at the same time, being too long in the same room with Sunny, not to mention Nephis, was sometimes burdensome. The princess of the Immortal Flame clan would sit for hours without saying a word and then surprise him with some claim that made him curse the day he got his Flaw. And she would say those things with the same calm tone she used when discussing weather or something of the sort. It was distressing.
Sunny was no better, but he also added to the mix his dry cynicism and generally bad mood. Kai had no idea why he liked the guy, if not for the fact that he at least was always honest with him. Or anyone. It was so bizarre that Kai wondered if that was indeed Sunny's Flaw. He didn't voice his suspicions to him, however. It felt like a preach of privacy.
Huntress Athena joined them later that day, surprised to find them still alive. She proceeded to cut herself an enormous chunk of monster meat and ask Nephis to lit her a fire. Nephis complied without saying a word, but her countenance seemed a bit strained for some reason. Still, she seemed to ultimately enjoy the company of the huntress; something that took Kai by surprise. The two women were polar opposites in many ways after all. But perhaps that was the reason.
As the hours rolled by, a grim anticipation began building up. Tomorrow they would set out to a — in Kai's opinion — suicidal mission, and first they were going to challenge a fallen tyrant. That meant that there was a good chance of them perishing inside the next twenty-four hours... who wouldn't have been a little shaken by a prospect like that?
When the dawn came, no one spoke much. They did not have much belongings, only the bare necessities of survival, so packing was easy. Kai was sad when he remembered the golden days of being able to wear different (clean and stylish) clothing every day of the week. Now he had to make do with couple of carefully picked armor memories and accessories. They did not look terrible... if they weren't covered by blood and grime, which was not very often these days.
Nephis lead her cohort straight to the top of the outer wall. All of them were alert and ready to fight, even Athena despite her relaxed appearance. Kai was not very worried about any problems they might have in the city — the last month had taught him to trust in their leader, as well as Sunny's senses and Cassie's intuition. No, what really made his skin crawl was the thought of what waited for them outside of the city walls.
The lair of the lord of dead was underground and could be accessed either by network of tunnels or by a deep chasm that was situated near the city, in the continental crater and next to a giant statue of a graceful woman. Nephis had decided to approach the tyrant from above, which seemed smart. That meant that they had to first descend to the crater and then walk to the statue. Nothing hard there. Kai flew down with Cassie while the rest of the group climbed down. After that they resumed their march towards the battle.
When they were nearing the fissure, Effie finally decided to open her mouth.
"No to pester, princess, but you haven't told us how you plan to actually kill the creature. I know that thing quite well and I doubt we'll just be able to pierce its heart when its still asleep."
Nephis blinked and focused her grey eyes to Effie. "Actually, that was close to what I was thinking of doing. I know some of the sorcery of Names, and I can use it to conceal us better. Additionally, we have Cassie's armor. Its enchantments make it harder for enemies to detect us. If one of us is quick, they just might get close enough to slay it."
"And I'm assuming that someone is you?"
"Actually, I think there's someone else who is much better than me at moving unnoticed."
Everyone looked at Sunny.
"Why are you all looking at me? What have I done to you to be sent to death?"
"Of course we're not sending you to die", Nephis said in a soothing tone. and Kai confirmed her truthfulness with his Flaw. "You have all the right to refuse, and I will take the challenge for myself. I will not command you. You should know that by now."
"How noble of you! Except we are only minutes away from the action. I don't even have a time to write my will, not to mention make a calculated decision."
"Just out of curiosity, what would be there in your will?" Athena chimed in, causing Kai to sigh. Sometimes the huntress could get little carried away, especially in a stressful stituation.
"How should I know? I have never thought about it. I guess I would give all my belongings to Kai, though."
"Really?"
Nephis frowned. "We don't have time for this. Does that mean you accept, Sunny? You should remember that my flames will always be with you should something go awry. Sunny?"But Sunny had gone still. His gaze was focused on nothing, and Kai knew immediately that something was wrong. Or right. At least different to what they had expected...
"Wait. My shadow."
"What does it see?" Nephis asked.
There was a silence of couple of heartbeats. Sunny's expression was growing more and more puzzled. Kai's grip on his bow tightened. Finally Sunny spoke.
"I don't exactly know what Lord of Dead is supposed to look like... but I'm pretty sure he's gone."
*******
Sunny had been right. When the cohort got to the bottom of the chasm and into the massive cavern under the broken dome, all they found was scattered piles of broken bones. On the ground there was a small snake-like creature, either dead or asleep, or perhaps somewhere in-between, and a peculiar bronze key that Sunny pocketed as soon as he had set his sight on it. Kai shook his head — Sunny was a greedy person, no doubt. But also curious. There had to be a day coming when that combination would turn out to in some kind catastrophic fashion.
No tyrant. Kai couldn't help himself — he felt elevated and relieved. But then he thought about what had happened to the tyrant, and his good mood vanished.
Effie voiced what was in every one of them's minds.
"What in the world could have done something like this? It a damn fallen tyrant."
Nephis had dismissed the golden rope and was looking around. "We can't be sure. It is likely a corrupted nightmare creature, I think. This whole place... it feels eerie. Almost familiar."
"Well... it is familiar. To you at least."
Nephis just shook her head. "Not that kind of familiar. It feels like there's traces of something I know."
And with that, she started walking towards one of the tunnels leading to the large cavern. Beyond its gaping maw lie only unpenetrable darkness. The tunnel didn't look at all pleasant and Kai was suddenly really happy they had chosen the upward route to ambush the lord of dead.
He looked at Nephis's back that was quickly fading into the darkness. Sunny was looking at another entrance, no doubt using his night vision to his advantage. Kai would have been concerned had they been any other two sleepers. Whatever had killed the fallen tyrant had to have gone somewhere, right? It could very well lurk in one those dark sewers and corridors...
After a while, Nephis was back. Kai listened, eager to get answers and relieved that nothing bad had happened yet.
"I know something", she concluded. "The being that killed the lord of dead... it was a creature of true darkness, like the black knight. Only much stronger it seems. This is bad news."
"Thanks for pointing out the obvious", Effie said. "But now, I guess the shard memory is with the killer? It certainly isn't lying anywhere here."
"I'd wager it is... Damnation." Kai was surprised by Nephis's use of language. Damnation was, after all, Sunny's pet word. Nevertheless, he chose this moment to join the conversation.
"So... what should we do?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Sunny asked. "We let it be and continue on with the plan. Whatever being killed the tyrant, we have much better chance at slaying it if and when we are back from the expedition. It is too strong for us now."
"It could escape if we wait", Nephis objected. "Nothing of this sort happened last time. Things are becoming unpredictable... "
"Welcome back to normal life, I guess... " Effie said dryly. "If my word is of any significance, I would really rather not go adventuring on the underground level of the Dark City. You might be strong and all, but that place is something else."
Kai was absolutely on Effie's side, but he felt like he had to clarify something. "Do you mean that we could lose the thing forever if we don't give chase? The shard memory, I mean."
"It's a possibility. But I somehow doubt it. What do you say, Cassie?"
Cassie was silent for a bit. When she spoke, she seemed unsure. "It is as you say; very unclear. But... If I were to decide, I'd go south. When we have the dawnshard, everything will be much easier. Not to mention that true darkness is the natural negator of both of your Aspects."
Sunny nodded. "We would also have Saint with us later on. She is evolving right now."
"Let's do as you say, then. We should not tarry too long — we have many kilometers before the marble arch."
*******
AN: It was nice to write something from Kai's POV, but of course I'll stick mostly to Nephis with little bit of Sunny.