"So now what?... We just wait here?"
Sunny glanced towards the person who uttered those idiotic words.
"What then? You wanna fight that terror in his stead?"
Kai vehemently shook his head.
"Ofcourse not. I didn't mean it like that. It just feels... unreal."
"Yeah tell me about it. We've spent too damn long here. And even though I had faith in princess, there never was a guarantee to escape. For all we know we could've never made it to the spire in the first place." Effie spoke in with a rare tone of nostalgia.
Sunny inwardly agreed. There was no doubt that the risk of going through Nephis's plans was abysmal. First they would have had to defeat Gunlaug- and his followers if they didn't submit. Which would've ultimately lead to a civil war within the Bright Castle. And be it any kind of war, bloodshed always follows.
After taking control of the remaining sleepers and preparing them for the fight against the spire, they would have to then march through hoards upon hoards of nightmare creatures. Casualties would've been unavoidable.
And finally- the battle against the terror itself... as Effie had highlighted, there really was no guarantee of escape. And even if they had been able to defeat the terror, only a fraction of the original sleepers would've been left alive to leave this harrowing place.
That was not to say that Nephis's plans were bad- it had been their only option out. Until that saint popped out of nowhere that is.
"Hey doofus... what kind of deal have you made with that dude?"
Sunny hadn't told them exactly what had transpired between them but they already had their guesses by observing the flickers of Nephis's somber expression.
After a brief moment of thinking he spoke "I can't appear in public anymore- not like I ever did. And I am... part of a legacy clan now. A hidden one at that. By the way don't tell anyone about that clan, or you'll see some... nightmares supposedly. Anyways I'll go to some unkown place for sometime so I'd be busy for a while and you will not be able to contact me."
Kai shuddered at the warning given by the saint via Sunny. None of them wanted to try testing the might of a legacy clan which had been able to hide for decades.
And with it most probably being the shadow clan, who they already had quiet an impression of, because of Sunny himself, they were even more wary. If he, who was already so terrifying as a sleeper with no background whatsoever, one could only imagine how much room he had to grow. And the small glimpses of strength from Lord of Shadows only heightened their speculations.
"That's... it? Nothing else?" Effie was not one to believe that a saint would personally come to collect rare talents with a shadow related aspect. It sounded too good to be true
"Well... and he'll take something from me in the future. I'm not sure what, didn't seem like it was a request so I didn't haggle. Also I have to provide some... service to him whenever he wants."
"Service? What kind of service?" Kai couldn't help but ask worriedly as he thought his friend was being swindled. Meanwhile Effie had an entirely different train of thought with the word 'service'.
Sunny gritted his teeth and spoke in outrage "I don't know! He said he'll teach me what this service is about. Why can't he just do it himself then!?"
As the conversation ended, silence settled in with the occasional sound of a fire crisping around them. It came from the campfire they had made. The whole cohort looked far into the distance. It was night, yet there was no dark sea nor were there any abominations. It felt serene.
For the first time since Sunny had entered forgotten shore.
It looked peaceful...
He was going to leave this hell of a place. Yet he couldn't help but feel wistful. He'd be seperated from his companions- from his friends if he dared to admit it.
His gaze drifted towards Nephis who at some point had turned to look at him as well.
'She's upset...'
xxx
Cassie sat in silence the whole time. She had been pondering about what Sunny had said. 'Service... is that saint no longer able to do something and wishes Sunny to perform that task in his place? Most likely. If it's something he'll teach him then it must not be a part of his aspect. But why Sunny? Is it becuase he had similar shadow related aspect or could it be something with his attributes. Either Lord of Shadows has some way to "see" others attributes or a particular attribute is common in between shadow aspects. That means there is a way to loose or change one's attributes other than ascending.'
Cassie had grasped the basic understanding of the saint's situation. Either he had gone through something strange or he had been heavily injured in a way or both. And that he needs someone with particular abilities to help him.
'Sunny must have reached a similar conclusion.'
Cassie pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind. Even though she was still very much untrusting of the saint and wary of his desires, she was still very grateful since he had prevented something that had been plaguing her mind since her early days on the Forgotten Shore.
That was the choice she would have to make. The choice to either struggle against fate and help Nephis. Or let her be killed by Sunny, allowing him to escape this desolate land.
It wasn't an easy choice.
She had made her decision to tell Nephis the true name of Sunny once they returned to the bright castle. But before she could have done it, her burden was lifted by Lord of Shadows.
He had saved them.
A smile spread across her face, one similar to the one she used to show in the beginning of her harrowing journey.
'I can't wait to go home.'
Sunny inwardly sighed as the saint emerged infront of them. The cohort followed him into the spire. When entering the door Sunny hesitated for a moment and shot one last look at the gloomy yet serene landscape before following them again.
'We're free...'