At the same time, the finale of the movie began with the title [The Scourge Of The Forgotten Shore]. It showed Nephis returning from her long journey and marching toward the Bright Castle.
Caster, however, was visibly upset as he watched. The writers had decided to portray him and Nephis as having a romantic relationship, and the moment he realized it, his expression darkened. He glanced at Nephis, who looked back with complete indifference. Sunny was staring at him too, wearing a mocking smile as he shook his head in silent amusement, which only made Caster more irritated.
Just you wait. My time has not come yet.
"Oh, Caster… I didn't know you were such a loverboy. Ahhh, that's so romantic." Kido giggled while Gemma pressed his lips together, clearly fighting the urge to laugh.
Caster clenched his fists and glanced around, and what he saw was not something he liked at all. Oh no…
"Hey, Nephis! How could you abandon him? Don't you know how hurt he was after you rejected him? Now he's listening to sad music! He's even forcing Kai to sing it while he walks alone in the dark!" Aiko shouted at Nephis's group with righteous indignation.
Oh… no, no, no…wait, wait, wait! Caster's eyes widened.
Nephis blinked, then looked down bleakly, her ears turning red with embarrassment while Aiko burst into laughter, slapping her knees. Even Rain and Effie were doubled over laughing, and Cassie couldn't stop a soft giggle from escaping.
"You broke his heart! Do you understand what-"
Caster reacted instantly, grabbing Aiko and covering her mouth to stop any more nonsense from spilling out as she squirmed helplessly in his grip.
Fuck… he thought as several spectators glanced at him with pity. A few guys even tapped their chests, giving him pained, sympathetic nods of encouragement.
Few minutes later, everyone calmed down but things did not go as anyone expected in movie. The radiant heroine, Nephis, was preparing to challenge the cruel tyrant, yet the real Gunlaug sitting in the theater did not look anything like the monstrous villain the movie portrayed. He sat among his clan members like a homeless bum crushed under debt from gambling alcohol addiction. The audience stared in confusion, trying to reconcile the terrifying tyrant on the screen with the pitiful figure beside them. The difference was shocking.
"What? I'm just chilling." Gunlaug frowned, not understanding the stares as he sipped his cocktail.
"Oi, golden moron… it's winter, not summer." Kido said, genuinely baffled by how he was dressed.
"Whatever, just enjoy the movie, dude." Gunlaug yawned, turning his attention back to the screen as the scene continued.
However, the atmosphere shifted drastically, in a way no one expected. Well… no one except the few who actually knew the details of what really happened.
Luna stepped forward in the movie, her voice trembling as she begged everyone to stop the senseless bloodshed. She pleaded for them to find common ground, to unite as humans instead of destroying each other, to rise together and challenge the crimson spire instead of letting hatred control them.
But they did not listen. Instead, they mocked Luna and called her naive and soft. The audience in the theater glanced at her with sympathy and admiration, breaking into applause. Many had tears in their eyes as Luna desperately tried to stop the fighting.
Then someone stepped forward. It was a young man with blazing red hair and crimson eyes burning with cold intensity. He laughed boldly as he challenged the Bright Lord. The audience erupted in cheers the moment he appeared.
"Ahhh! Lord Medici!"
"It's him, look at him!"
"For the spell's sake, the movie does not do him justice! He is so much more handsome in real life."
Medici tried to remain cold and expressionless as he watched, pretending he was indifferent to the flood of praise. His mouth, however, twitched as he struggled not to let it curl into a smile.
This did not go unnoticed. Jet, Luna, Amon and Rodrick stared at him in blank disbelief.
"I do not understand all this hype. Why is this idiot so loved?" Jet muttered, shaking her head.
"Well, he is cool, so it makes sense." Rodrick said with an easy smile.
Luna and Amon did not offer any comment. Their shoulders trembled as their expressions cracked, and then they burst into laughter, pointing at Medici without mercy.
Medici's expression soured instantly, and he snorted as his pride deflated. "We will see how you two look when your parts come up."
The moment he said that, both Luna and Amon froze, then leaned back in their seats with identical looks of pure dread, already cringing at the thought.
Then the fight finally began. People held their breath as Medici shattered Gunlaug's armor with Luna's crown giving him support. At the same time, Nephis and Luna were locked in a fierce clash.
Amon found himself disturbed by how accurate the portrayal was. It was not perfectly identical to how their battles had actually unfolded, but it was close enough to be unsettlingly familiar.
Before the conflict on-screen could progress any further, deranged laughter echoed through the castle, followed by a violent tremor that shook the entire structure. A moment later, a majestic black ship fell from the sky and crashed through the ceiling, tearing through floor after floor like a colossal spear until it pierced straight down to the very bottom.
At the same time, Harus and Amon were shown falling through the collapsing structure, fighting in mid-air. The entire theater went silent. Their faces shifted into expressions of disbelief and horror as Amon defeated Harus, shattered his spine, and hung him with his own chains.
"Raahahahaha! I'm the fucking Blasphemer!" The actor playing Amon screamed in deranged glee as he plummeted downward, flailing dramatically. The audience collectively recoiled in their seats.
"What the hell…" one spectator muttered, face draining of color.
"He's crazy…" another whispered, deeply unsettled.
Meanwhile, Harus grimaced at the screen, shoulders stiff. He was staring directly at the actor portraying him, and the look on his face made it painfully clear he wished he weren't.
"That was painful and insane." Harus muttered.
"Tell me about it," Amon muttered, remembering exactly how chaotic everything had been.
Then Harus frowned, tilting his head with a curious squint. "I don't think I was that dramatic. You were kind of like that… but then again, you enjoy theatrics."
Amon nodded, cackling as Harus's on-screen self shrieked like a dying kettle.
"They made you into a pussy, kekek!"
"Fuck off, bastard." Harus snorted, leaning back with a dark scowl.
Meanwhile, the audience assumed Amon would fall to his death. However, a dark silhouette appeared on the screen, catching him at the last moment and pulling him to safety.
Gasps filled the theatre as Luna appeared, drenched in blood and covered in wounds, clutching Amon's limp body in her arms.
Now the audience was completely lost. Amon was supposed to be a joke, was he not? They had heard the rumors about the fearsome Blasphemer, but the movie had never shown anything that matched that reputation. Gradually, everyone had simply assumed he was nothing more than a troublesome nuisance.
But after watching him massacre countless enemies in mere seconds by dropping a ship onto the castle, they no longer knew what to believe.
"Haha, take that, fraud allegations!" Amon laughed, a deeply satisfied smile appearing on his face."My offscreen haki is that strong, bitch."
Then the scene shifted, showing Medici advancing with cold determination toward Tessai, who stood frozen in terror, unable to move. Medici beheaded him without hesitation. The screen showed him stepping over the corpse and walking toward the throne with rivers of blood flowing behind him, streaming down the steps like a crimson waterfall.
Medici stared at the throne for a few seconds before sitting down, leaning back with arrogance while his subordinates clashed with Nephis's faction to protect him.
The theatre erupted in cheers again. The loudest screams came from the girls, who did not care in the slightest who was right or wrong. They only cared that Medici looked fucking hot.
Then the final battle began. Sunless emerged from a shattered mirror while Nephis pulled herself up from the debris, her arm shooting upward with determination. At that moment, Luna stepped forward as well.
The fight was so brutal and deranged that some audience members closed their eyes, disturbed by the pure, senseless chaos and the merciless way Luna fought, letting enemies pierce her body, slash her back, and wound her repeatedly just to land her own blows.
Before the battle could progress further, Amon appeared. He drove a rod straight through Nephis's body and then hurled several more at her, pinning her to the wall.
At the same time, Sunless tried to ambush Amon, aiming for his head, but something blurred in an instant, blocking the strike with incredible speed.
Caster had joined the battle.
"Hell yeah!"
"That's my boy!"
"Shit, he's spreading his arms while running!"
"He's doing it again, guys. hahaha!"
Members of Amon's clan jumped from their seats, cheering wildly.
Caster glanced at Sunny, grinning from ear to ear. Sunny avoided his gaze with a scoff, his expression sour from displeasure.
"See? That's what Amon was doing on the Forgotten Shore, Rain. He's not a gentleman or someone to admire." Sunny said with a sigh, hoping his sister would finally understand that Amon was just a sadistic bastard.
"Wow… that's so cool. Even while falling, he looked so… ahh, that's just so elegant! And Lady Luna saved him too. Do you see it, Sunny? That's so endearing. I would love to have a relationship that romantic someday." Rain said with a dreamy gaze as she stood up and clapped with a bright smile.
What the fuck…
After both Sunny and Nephis were defeated, Amon approached Luna, who was lying on the ground. The audience gasped as he extended his arm toward her in a gesture meant to feed her. At first, they did not understand, but then realization dawned. Though, of course, it was false. Luna's flaw was not a hunger for flesh or anything of that sort.
Even so, as disturbing as the scene was, the audience could not look away. When Amon kissed her, their eyes shifted to Luna's belly, and most were convinced they knew who the father was.
"Sunny, I told you. I was right. Of course Mr. Amon is the father." Rain exclaimed with wide eyes.
This time Sunny wasn't angry. He was thoughtful as a deep frown appeared on his face. He still couldn't believe that Luna was pregnant. He glanced at her and squinted, wondering when they had even found the time. The idea still baffled him.
Luna noticed his stare and smiled gently, giving him a small nod. Sunny nodded back awkwardly and turned his eyes to the screen again.
"Those guys are really something…" Cassie said with a sigh.
Effie noticed her friends' awkward expressions, stared at them in disbelief, then scoffed, shaking her head. "No, it's just you guys who are weird. They're a man and a woman. They love each other and spent a lot of time together. It's perfectly natural that they'd end up with a child… who knows how many times they did it back on the Forgotten Shore?"
"Is it really that normal?" Nephis asked, her tone flat but her cheeks faintly reddened. She sounded awkward even asking, and if she were honest, she wasn't used to matters like this. The Changing Star was usually expressionless and cold, but when it came to personal relationships, she was inexperienced and prone to blushing.
"Listen here, Princess. It is perfectly normal, like I said. While Amon isn't the most handsome man in the world like Medici… uhm, he's drop-dead gorgeous, though..." Effie said with a grin, glancing at Medici for a moment before biting her lower lip.
Nephis nodded awkwardly. Medici was indeed handsome, but he was too aggressive and muscular for her taste.
Meanwhile, Effie continued with a sigh. "Where was I? Oh, right. While he isn't as handsome as Medici, Caster, or Kai, Amon has his own unique charm. To be honest, no one else has it, so he's pretty special. And… Luna's… is it strange that I feel some attraction toward a woman even though I'm straight?" She added, sounding a bit confused.
Everyone stared at her blankly for a moment. Then Cassie cleared her throat and composed herself. "I think it's not as strange when it comes to Luna and Medici."
"Why is that?" Rain asked curiously, while Sunny glared daggers at Effie. What the heck was she talking about when there was a child with them?
"To be honest, even I feel a slight attraction when it comes to Luna. It's not simply because she's beautiful, but I think it's her attribute. I believe the same applies to Medici. Both have, respectively, their masculine and feminine sides greatly enhanced." Cassie answered thoughtfully. She couldn't exactly see their runes, but she had a faint sense of them, and from that, she was able to deduce it.
At the same time, Amon's smile widened as he watched people slowly realize what was happening.
Bingo… If he stepped forward and declared that he was the father, the Song Clan would deny it with all their strength, and Luna wouldn't be able to confirm anything since she was bound to obey her mother. Not to mention, people would assume that Amon was trying to take advantage of the situation, slander Luna, or ruin her reputation if he said anything. So Amon remained silent, letting people realize it themselves, leaving the Song Clan powerless to intervene.
Of course, this wasn't enough on its own, but Amon was meticulous with his plans. It was always better to lay the foundation before building the house.
Few moments later, everyone's attention returned to the screen as Amon released Luna and walked toward the shattered wall overlooking the entire Dark City. He summoned a torch and shattered countless shards, absorbing them into himself. The audience looked on, bewildered, unsure what he intended to do.
Yet no one dared speak as Amon's body began to transform, slowly replaced with writhing, insidious maggots. Half of his face became covered with the worms, curling and straightening, their forms forming strange, disturbing patterns resembling the clock.
Then he hurled the torch forward, and a massive explosion bloomed, consuming everything and reducing the entire city to ashes.
The theater remained silent, faces pale and horrified as a single Sleeper had burned down an entire city. At the same time, Amon's body began to stabilize.
Looking at the pillars of flame, he spread his arms with a smile, then bowed gracefully as if announcing the end of the performance before losing consciousness.
Amon remained silent as he watched the screen, his expression thoughtful and slightly disturbed. If he were not careful to maintain his mental state in the waking world, he could become a corrupted beast at any moment, whether years from now or tomorrow.
Then the siege of the Crimson Spire began, a battle as chaotic and insane as the previous one. Medici's speech ignited the final battle of the Forgotten Shore, followed by a relentless clash between nightmare creatures and humans.
Medici led the army, advancing steadily, while Nephis moved among the soldiers, healing them to reduce casualties. Luna supported the battlefield wherever she was needed, appearing suddenly to save those in peril.
Kai appeared in the sky, taking on the spire's messengers, and the audience watched with hope despite already knowing the outcome. Soon after, Harus joined with a massive, strange raven, fighting alongside them. Together, the three defeated the messengers and saved the army by tilting the net holding hundreds of avian beasts toward the nightmare creatures, crushing them under their combined weight.
Medici reached the spire while Luna held back tides of abominations. Meanwhile, Caster rescued many sleepers, moving with impossible speed, while Gunlaug laughed wildly as a storm erupted overhead, lightning tearing through clouds and rain pouring down. It became clear why Gunlaug was called the Laughing Storm and Caster the Prince of Motion.
Then the audience's shock peaked as the same black ship that had destroyed the castle appeared, manifesting atop a mountain of corpses from a rain of white sparks before plummeting down again. Gunlaug led the Sleepers from the rear camp toward the spire, battling monstrous sea creatures, then boosted the ship's speed, crashing it directly into the spire's entrance.
In that moment, the audience understood why Amon's cohort was considered the most powerful, resourceful, versatile, and insane. Only someone truly unhinged could accomplish such a feat.
After that, the movie lost its accuracy. In reality, Amon's cohort were the only ones who had faced the Crimson Terror, and they never spoke of what had truly happened. So the writers decided to create their own ending.
In the film, Amon and his cohort sacrificed themselves to save everyone, realizing their past mistakes and fighting for what was right. They fought heroically, ultimately defeating the Crimson Terror and achieving redemption while staying behind as everyone escaped.
The audience erupted in cheers. Stories of a journey toward redemption always resonated deeply. The other characters did not feel as realistic as Amon's cohort because they were too perfect, each fighting solely for their own convictions and ideologies, whereas Amon and his companions had flaws, conflict, and humanity in every choice they made.
Amon's cohort had made countless mistakes on their journey. Gunlaug had tried everything and eventually fell into the depths of despair, unable to find a way home and turned into a tyrant. Harus was consumed by regrets, his entire life feeling bleak and hollow. Caster was torn between loyalty and duty, unsure whether to stay with the Changing Star or take the risk to save everyone. Kido chose to side with Amon after seeing a glimmer of hope to return home with the love of her life. Kai was plagued by doubts and fears, which led to unfortunate incidents, but in the final battle he found the courage to do what was necessary. Despite being small and powerless, Aiko supported her friends on the battlefield, providing everything they needed to succeed and doing everything in her power to help.
Amon, meanwhile, had started as a troublemaker, but he became the mastermind secretly pulling the strings to save everyone, even if his actions cost many lives because not every plan went as intended.
It was these mistakes, conflicts, and struggles that made them feel real and deeply loved by the audience. Yet at the same time, people feared them, because they understood this wasn't just fiction. These were real individuals, sitting in the theatre right now, capable of going to any lengths to achieve their goals.
"So… what do you guys think?" Kai asked, smiling.
"Kai… my friend…" Caster began, wiping a tear from his eye. "This… this shit was magnificent."
Kai sighed in relief as the others laughed as well. Of course, they hadn't taken the movie seriously. Even if their characters were inaccurate, sometimes turned into jokes or villains, they were just having fun, so they didn't care.
"What about you, Gunlaug?" Aiko asked, gently shaking his shoulder.
But then she froze, her expression widening in horror.
"Guys…"
"He… he blacked out?"
"Yeah…"
"Oh, come on!"
"Again? Fuck…"
"Just leave him there."