At last, Lumian and Asael arrived at a vast cavern hidden deep within the mountains. The cavern was gigantic—so enormous that it could contain the entire Dark City and still leave an immense space that seemed to stretch into infinite blackness.
"Asael, have you already obtained the memory called Fragment of Midnight?" Lumian asked, breaking the sepulchral silence of the place.
Asael frowned in concentration.
"Let me check," he said, his gaze unfocusing for a few moments as he consulted the inner space where his memories were stored. Then he came back to himself. "Yes. I got it when I was leaving the Soul Tree. A larger centurion attacked me, so I had to kill it. It dropped a sword with that name."
Lumian visibly relaxed. With that, they were one step closer to their goal. Before reaching the Dark City, they would have five of the seven fragments needed to release the seals. The path, though dangerous, was becoming tangible.
"Why do you ask?"
"Hmm… they're important," Lumian replied, evasive but firm.
After that, they finally reached their destination within the cavern.
At the center stood an enormous pillar of black stone that seemed to pierce darkness itself, rising and descending into the invisible. The pillar was surrounded by ancient, rusted scaffolding that looked insignificant before its sheer scale.
Soon, the silhouette of an unfinished statue captured their attention. It had been carved directly into the rock of the pillar by unknown hands.
The torso showed nearly finished muscular details and draped stone, while the lower half remained imprisoned in raw rock. As in the other places, the head was missing, torn away with a violence that still seemed to echo in the still air.
Lumian summoned his sword. Asael did the same. Both felt the heavy, hostile presence of the guardian of this place.
A figure slammed into the black sand of the ground.
It was a monstrous creature, an unnatural fusion of lion and crow, with multiple articulated limbs twisting grotesquely. Its skin was corpse-pale, while its neck and chest were covered in dark, dull feathers.
Lumian recognized it instantly: the Herald Messenger, the same creature they had encountered after killing the Carapace Centurion.
The battle began without preamble.
Lumian invoked the Fragment of Dawn, and a warm, golden light strengthened his fourth-level sword and Asael's as well.
Since both of them were monsters in combat, they had a real—though precarious—chance against the Herald of Crimson Terror.
Their swords clashed against the creature's membranous wings and chitinous limbs. The sound was metallic and shrill.
Lumian decided not to summon his Awakened Demon; he needed to avoid killing the Herald too quickly to ensure the acquisition of the corresponding memory. This restriction made the fight far more difficult.
The Messenger beat its wings with brute force, creating a blast of corrupted wind that sent Lumian and Asael flying several meters backward.
Recovering quickly, Lumian summoned his Igneous Rock.
Without a word, Asael understood the signal and invoked a cutting wind.
In the next instant, a sea of wild flames—fueled by both of them—surged toward the Herald, engulfing part of its body in tormenting fire and heat.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Lumian summoned the Blood Spear and hurled it with all the strength of his enhanced body.
The spear flew like a cursed projectile, piercing one of the monster's wings and pinning it to the ground for a moment. Both of them then charged in.
Lumian dissolved the spear, reclaiming the essence he had used.
Determined to end the fight, Lumian searched for an opening.
The opportunity came when the enraged Herald focused its attention on Asael.
With swift movements, Lumian launched several sword strikes to distract it momentarily.
After a few seconds of buying time, Asael lunged in again, cutting off several of the legs that protruded from the Herald of the Needle's chest.
Leaving Asael to deal with the now heavily wounded monster, Lumian finally summoned his Awakened Demon. He climbed onto its carapace and ordered it to run.
The creature obeyed at once, charging toward the statue at terrifying speed and reaching its base in a matter of seconds.
Lumian placed his hand against the statue's cold stone. He felt a special essence—ancient knowledge and latent power—flow into him, marking another fragment of destiny fulfilled.
Then he summoned his Transcendent Sword and, still mounted on the Demon, returned to the battlefield.
He arrived just in time to see Asael hurled through the air, a deep, bleeding wound torn into his side despite his resilient body.
Lumian leapt from the Demon's head.
The Messenger of the Needle noticed him and let out a chilling screech that echoed through the cavern, ready for one last desperate attack. However, Lumian was faster now.
His body descended like a meteor, and his Transcendent Sword—charged with murderous will—cleanly cleaved through the Herald's body.
Its torso, black blood, and viscous entrails splattered onto the black sand with a wet, final sound. With one last spasm, the monster fell dead.
Lumian put on a relieved smile, hiding the exhaustion and accumulated tension.
It's dead, he thought, satisfied.
[You have killed a fallen monster: Cursed Herald]
[Your core has strengthened]
[You have received a memory]
Lumian looked away from the dead Herald and turned to Asael, who was struggling to sit up.
The wound wasn't fatal, but it was serious.
They would need to rest until it healed.
Sleepers recovered faster than ordinary humans; within hours, the wound would begin to close.
Sitting on the cold ground, Lumian mentally reviewed the fragments they possessed:
Fragment of Dawn
Fragment of Dusk
Fragment of Midnight
They now had a total of three. If he obtained the fragment in the Bone Tomb and the one in the northern part of the Dark City, he would have five of the seven fragments.
The path was shortening.
He took out his Water Memory and drank several deep gulps, feeling a cool relief flow down his throat. Then he tossed it to Asael, who caught it midair.
"So, what's next?" Asael asked after drinking.
"We get the hell out of this place. We already have what we needed here. We're heading to the Walled City of Engravings," Lumian declared.
Despite the pain, Asael managed a smile.
"By the way, what's up with that memory of yours?" he asked, pointing at the black sword embedded in the monster's corpse.
Lumian looked at the sword.
It was a black blade with a long two-handed grip, decorated with engravings of black bone and a small skull set into the pommel.
The blade was long and straight, ending in a sharp point, both edges honed like the edge of a nightmare.
"Oh, this?" Lumian said, drawing it slightly. "Do you remember my cannibal dolphin?"
"That weird Echo of yours?" Asael asked, leaning against a rock.
"Yeah. Well, do you remember the Terror that fought the Colossus?"
Asael nodded, renewed interest in his eyes.
"It turns out it was on the brink of death. So I sent my Echo to deal the final blows to secure it… and it did. I ended up getting a second-level transcendent memory and this sword," Lumian explained, trying to sound casual.
Asael stared at him for a moment, unsure whether to admire him or be exasperated.
"You lucky bastard," he finally muttered, without real hostility.
"Come on, you'll get an awesome memory too, I'm sure," Lumian encouraged him.
"Yeah… sure," Asael murmured, weary but with a hint of hope in his eyes, as the dim light of the cavern reflected off the swords and the dried blood.
The rest would be brief, and the road still long.