After a bit of walking around, they finally came to a room inside the big house. It didn't look much different from the other rooms. Only a small sign hung on top of it on the wall saying "Andreas".
Zeo entered first, without telling them to come inside at all. For a couple of seconds Sunny stood there awkwardly before following behind.
Inside, a man who seemed to be in his early thirties was sitting on a wooden chair. There was a small bed to the side, and other things of necessity around.
There were practically no decorations, in fact the place would be considered down right gloomy if it wasn't for it being arranged in perfect cleanliness.
It was not even comparable to the quarters that Nephis had gotten for herself in the dark city originally, even though she herself wasn't much into decoration and flare.
It seemed that the second ruler was a man of humility, despite his strength being second only to Gunlaug here.
What was much more eye catching however...was the leader himself.
The man was of a tall and muscular build. With neat jet black hair and sharp amber-gold eyes with thin vertical black iris.
His skin however...was no human skin at all. Instead the man had chromatic grey scales all over his body that seemed to be made out of carapace tribune steel, in the shape of a scavenger's or centurion's carapace scales.
His teeth had four large fangs protruding out of them, with two from above and two from below. Each fang was like a sculpture made out of solid rocks.
His hands on the other hand were seemingly made out of glass, underneath which seemed to be a layer of blackened clay. The hands ended in sharp claws made out of pure sharp glass and connected on the other end with the carapace armour.
Finally on his back, there were two pairs of translucent crimson wings that looked like they belonged to some insect like Nightmare creature. They were retracted into a small area right now, but once outstreched, they could probably cover a wingspan of three and a half meters.
Zeo was standing next to him.
Seeing Sunny, the man called Andreas smiled and stood up, easily dwarfing the already tall Zeo next to him.
'This guy could probably give Tessai competition for his height.' That was Sunny's last thought before someone shrieked behind him.
Sunny sighed, but before he could tell them to calm down, Andreas spoke first.
"Please don't be horrified by my appearance, it's a result of my aspect. Rest assured, I will not try devouring any of you." His voice was sweet and his face was smiling, completely betraying any hint of danger.
But Sunny was not fooled, this man was a killer. Perhaps not something he enjoyed, but he was one nonetheless.
"Yeah, if anything, we should be reassured, you must be pretty powerful. Well that's a given anyways, you are the leader of these people."
Whether he was a killer or not didn't have anything to do with him being a trustable person or not. And unlike everybody else here, Sunny alone had the advantage of knowing what to expect from him.
Sunny had never met the man, but he had heard enough tales about the two rulers that he felt like he had known them for ages. This time it seemed that fate wanted him to actually know one of them too.
'His aspect must have something to do with the scavengers. If I'm not wrong, his skin is likely a mix of the carapace soldiers, on his back are the wings of the blood reavers, his arms are like those of the glass mantises and his fangs are that of the stone golems.
His eyes are probably a result of those weird creatures that can petrify people upon looking. And something else too.
All in all, he has the various powers of different creatures of the forgotten shore. Truly the perfect aspect for such a distopia.'
Sunny continued. "So, I assume you don't invite just about anyone to your quarters just because they manage to enter the city, why us?"
Andreas smiled wider. "It was my friend here who invited your cohort inside, but I will give him credit, he has good eyes for people."
"Uh, not to be rude but, what's going on?" In the midst of the conversation before two monsters, someone like June found herself confused.
Thankfully, there was Nephis for saving the common folk.
"Basically, they want us to join their group instead of gunlaug's, so it's better to meet us first."
Andreas let out a chuckle. "That is a rough way of putting it, but yes that's right."
"You couldn't have been less straightforward?" Sunny lowered his eyes a bit.
"Dont worry about it, In fact I prefer dealing with straightforward people. It's easier in this place where I'd rather focus on surviving." Andreas remained silent for a moment, looking at Nephis with a curious gaze before continuing.
"We will gather around in a while to discuss the recent future plans, I would like you folks to attend too. Get a look at how we function, mingle with others. See if you like it here."
Zeo smirked. "Well, like is a stretch, no one likes to live in the outskirts. But it's more genuine than the dictatorship of gunlaug for sure."
Andreas exhaled slightly. "And of course, if you want to, you can enter the bright castle for two weeks with a soul shards per person.
It will get you free food, housing and a proper roof on your head for that time."
His expression darkened. "But I will let you know, if you are not a combatant there, you will get harrassed. Some guard may be bored or just feeling like a piece of shit randomly, and they'll come to mock you for sure.
They'll call you by vulgar names, push you down, and even sexually harrass you if you are a woman.
That's the price you will pay if you want to buy your safety there."
Zeo's smile softened. "Look, as much as we'd prefer gathering any capable fighters as allies here, it's ultimately your decision.
We aren't in such dire need of help either way that we'd be destroyed if we don't get reinforcements this year, but still I'd like you to think about your two choices deeply before making a proper allegiance.
You should even visit the bright castle if you have any soul shards, maybe send a few members of your cohort to check it out. That way you can know which side to root for."
Sunny smiled as he answered. "Dont worry we will think properly. But first, I didn't give you my name did I? I am Sunless. You can call me Sunny, I'm not part of a legacy clan but my father is an Ascended in the government, so I know a few things around."
Noticing his sign, Nephis spoke next.
"I am Nephis, from the immortal flame clan. Sunny and I are rivals in essence, we came to this place together. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
Before Caster could give his name next however, Andreas slammed his first into his other hand's palm.
"I knew it! You looked just like lady Smile of Heaven! How is he doing? Your father?"
Sunny was taken aback by the sudden excitement, surely Nephis had been too, but she kept her demeanor in control.
For a moment Sunny even pondered the idea of Andreas mocking her, but quickly ditched it altogether. Smile of Heaven had died some years before the first ruler's cohort showed up in the forgotten shore, so they could know about her death.
But broken sword had died less than 15 years ago, which meant that there was no way for Andreas to know about his situation. Unless he was told about it by someone who came later...
Before he could continue thinking, Nephis was already answering the question.
"My father...broken sword..he is dead. An year after he and his cohort became the people to achieve Transcendence, he mysteriously died."
The colour from Andreas' face paled. For a few seconds the air was crackling with palpable tension of awkwardness and sorrow.
Finally he found the right words to respond with.
"I am sorry to hear that my lady, I didn't know that. Surely it was a grave loss for human kind when he passed away."
Nephis nodded her head slightly. "It certainly was, but if you don't mind me asking, how did you know him?"
Andreas waved his hand in dismissal. "Oh I didn't know him in truth, it was my father you see, who worked with him for quite long.
Master Broken Sword helped my father bring order to the Antarctic Quadrant of humanity. He respects him alot for it. Oh you mentioned that he had achieved Transcendence? As expected of humanity's best soldier. What are Transcendents called again?"
Nephis and Sunny simultaneously replied.
"Saints."
"Ah, saint. That is genuinely a good word to describe him."
As Andreas felt saddened by the news, on the other hand, Sunny and Nephis were whispering to each other.
"What's with you?"
"What?"
"I am talking aren't I?"
"I just said saint, it's not a big deal."
"No, but it looks so weird when both of us say it at the same time."
"You don't like being associated with me?"
"Oh for the love of-"
"Anyways hold on, I have a question."
Sunny turned to face Andreas.
"Hey, not to doubt you or anything, but it's been over a decade since then, surely many people must have come to the city in that time.
How come you never knew of this?"
Andreas looked at him for a few seconds before answering. "That's true. I suppose I just don't mingle too much with everyone here, as unlikely as it may sound, I find social gatherings quite... draining. So I usually keep to myself unless my presence is necessary.
Moreover, most of us don't get the time to chat about things that don't affect us directly here, its a constant struggle for survival, this city."
Sunny smiled darkly in his heart. 'So the death of humanity's greatest hero for his time isn't even worth a topic discussing huh? I wouldn't disagree though, it's not something I'd bring up for small talk either.
How easy it is to erase someone's existence.'
It was so morbid how people just moved on from you, no matter how important you had been once to them.
Outwardly, he didn't let any expression show, instead he simply nodded and thanked him for the explanation.
Next, it was Caster's turn to announce that he was from the han Li clan. Which actually didn't spark any reaction from Andreas, because the han Li clan had been made after he arrived on the forgotten shore.
Then, once everyone had introduced themselves, the cohort took their leave to discuss matters alone.
***
Once again, the eight people had gathered in a circular form. Sunny had expected intense chatter, but to his surprise no one found the strength to talk.
They had all exhausted themselves climbing into the city, besides they had enough trust put in Sunny and Nephis by now that they'd listen to them no matter what judgement they made.
With the exception of Caster...
After the meeting with the second ruler had ended, Sunny found himself walking down the streets of the outer settlement with Nephis. She insisted that the two of them should talk alone.
"So what did you want to talk about? Why not discuss it with everyone?"
"No real reason to be honest, I just feel at ease talking with less people around."
"That's fair. So what do you suggest we do?"
"You want to send some people to the castle for information right?"
"Yeah, that's my plan."
"Good, we are on the same page. It's not that I distrust these guys, it's just that knowledge is winning half the battle."
"Yep, agreed. So who should we send?"
"What were you thinking?"
"I was thinking about sending in the three girls with Cassie and Liam. They will manage just fine, it's only the three of us remaining who can face the Awakened creatures and consistently win. So that's the best allotment in my eyes."
"How many soul shards do you have?"
"Much more than enough, I kept some in reserve, enough to get all of us a month in the Castle."
"Then I say we send Caster too."
Sunny's eyebrow perked up. "Care to explain why?"
Nephis smile at him with amusement. "We will get to spend some quality time together."
Sunny returned that smile involuntarily. "Ohh?"
"Actually, I want Cassie and the rest to have some form of protection there. Besides, the two of us can survive meeting a fallen, we can't say that about Caster with surety."
"That's actually a good argument, alright so the two of us would join the hunting parties for the hunts and the rest of our cohort would learn all there is to learn about the bright castle. Sounds like a plan."
Nephis sighed. "That's because it is..."
And so here they were, having related the news to the cohort. No one minded really, a couple of weeks of rest were most invited.
With the exception of Caster.
"But, lady Nephis! It would be more logical to have me by your side. I can be-"
Nephis waved her hand in dismissal. "Tell that to Sunny, I'm not making the decisions here."
Sunny jerked at the finger being pointed at him, but before he could react, Caster finally broke.
"Why not? You are the last remaining legacy of the immortal flame clan. Surely you should be the one making the decisions and not some-"
Sunny's head tilted. "Not some what?"
Nephis on the other hand, replied without batting an eye. "Because I don't want to. Now, would you go and investigate the bright castle? Or do you want to part ways here?"
Caster stumbled. "N-no that's...not what I meant. I didn't mean to offend you. Sigh, I don't have a problem with following this plan, I was just suggesting my thoughts."
Sunny smiled smugly. "Your opinion is heard Caster. Now, hurry along before the gates close."
'And it is ignored.' With that, Sunny turned to Cassie.
"And you take care of yourself especially. No getting scared alright, if you get a vision keep it to yourself until we regroup, or tell it to the rest of us around you if it's necessary."
Nephis followed behind. "Everyone, good luck. Let's meet each other soon."
***
After some time, everyone gathered in a hall like area.
There were the five members of Andreas' cohort and several others. Sunny and Nephis arrived there as well, naturally.
Apparently this was the sum of all hunting parties in the outer settlement, around fifty people had gathered to discuss matters today.
Sitting on a table's centre was Andreas, surrounded by two women. Both were relatively lean and not very muscular at all, betraying any hints of being honed on the forgotten shore at all.
But Sunny was informed better by Zeo beforehand. One of them was Penthesilea. A woman who had arrived on the shore just the next year after the first ruler's cohort, which included Andreas.
Penthesilea was a sorceress, and as such didn't depend much on her physicality, she was much more akin to Cassie in that regard.
The other person was even more similar to Cassie, in the sense that— she was an oracle.
She had arrived a while after Penthesilea, but quickly became a trusted member of the first ruler's retainers.
Mira seemed to be in her mid twenties, but her face made her look like a kid, which was weird because she was supposed to have been here for over a decade already.
Sunny could almost swear he saw the lineage of storm in her eyes.
Next to Penthesilea was Zeo, that guy had probably come much later, about five or six years ago, he was in his early twenties.
And finally, the person he had been looking to meet again. Effie...hunter Athena.
She was as lively as before. Devouring a much larger piece of meat than anyone else, there she was. The one raised by wolves.
Or Penthesilea actually, Sunny could tell at a glance that it was her who had guided Effie in the original timeline.
Having arrived here three years ago, Effie had already reached the level of the rest of the second ruler's cohort. She could face any of them in combat now, except for Andreas himself.
That man exuded power of such level that even Sunny was shocked witnessing it simply in its dormant state.
Not because he couldn't crush him, but because it had been such a loss.
It had all been such a loss, all these wonderful people with so much potential dying here for no reason other than the fact that the nightmare spell had chosen to throw their lives into a grindstone as ruthless as this.
But then again, maybe it was the only way humanity was going to prevail. The only way humanity could possibly survive.
Even Sunny had originally been honed right here. And he was going to be remade here once again.
Looking around, Sunny saw many familiar and unfamiliar faces.
He saw Jubei, the confident and prideful sleeper who had challenged harus to a duel and died.
He saw mike and park, the two sleepers who had been put in charge of everything when Nephis had led her cohort outside the city for months and propagated stories about Effie, he even saw some of the future fire keepers.
There was one person though, who when Sunny saw him, made him almost drop his act of not knowing anyone here.
It was...Quentin.
The valiant healer knight who had accompanied him into the maw of Antarctica and Ascended all by himself.
'Ofcourse...but ofcourse. Why wouldn't it be possible, just because someone was sent somewhere else in their winter solstice doesn't mean they would be sent in the same place after my regression.
The spell changed the place where Quentin was going and sent him to the forgotten shore...'
How utterly absurd was that, it seemed so out of place. Having his Antarctic soldier in the crimson hell of the forgotten shore. But when his emotions settled, all Sunny felt...was good.
Because Quentin was already a powerful ally, with the maw of the forgotten shore...he would become powerful enough to stand alongside monsters like Effie and Kai.
Infact, there were many more people who could achieve the same, given that they survived of course.
And that duty fell on Sunny's hands.
Wasn't it Ironic, the prince of death was supposed to serve his people the promise of life. The one who was once lost from light was going to find the source of light on this foreign land for his kind and extinguish it from this desolate landscape.
Once he did, the humans would find themselves showering in light again, this time in their own world, and yet the one who saved them would have become less human.
Sunny did not have time to ponder on the irony though, because as everyone was seated, Andreas began the meeting.
Andreas himself was shifting through some parchments, busy with the logistics of the outer settlement.
When he saw the duo arrive though, he stopped immediately and greeted them with a smile.
"Hello Sunny! And lady Nephis! It is a pleasure to see you here, I take it you will join us tomorrow?"
Nephis simply nodded while Sunny replied with a smile.
"Yes, we have sent the rest of our cohort to the castle to rest for the week, it has been a harsh time for them too, and unlike us they can't take it for too long.
Dont worry though, the two of us will be worth a dozen sleepers each. That I can promise you."
Andreas let out a chuckle. "I love myself a confident pair. Well, I will appreciate that help for sure. Get your names on the list from Quentin, he'll allot you a hunting party."
Sunny nodded, but before he could move away Nephis suddenly spoke up. "Uh, can you make it so me and Sunny are together in the same party? We work together best."
Her face was stoic and her voice was monotonous, but Sunny could very faintly see her cheeks having a tint of blush on them.
'It seems that the last lady of immortal flame can't resist my charm afterall.'
Andreas smiled softly. "Oh ofcourse, we prefer if people are comfortable working with each other anyways, so you would have been together without asking.
Uh, could you tell us what exactly do you specialise in? It's better for the cohorts to know."
Sunny nodded. "We are both frontline fighters, though I can help scout as well."
Nephis followed. "I can also heal someone if necessary. You can count on us."
***
After having discussed most other problems, it finally came to talk about the hunting expeditions.
"We will send in three cohorts to the city this time aswell, the leftover creatures from the tide are still alive. They will be enough for us to hunt down.
The composition will remain the same as before, but since this lovely duo has chosen to join us, integrate them into the battle plan Quentin."
Quentin nodded silently while writing something down on a piece of parchment.
"What do you mean by the tide? The dark sea has tides?" Sunny questioned Andreas, he knew that it didn't, but that made it more important to know what exactly was Andreas talking about.
"No, the dark sea does not have tides, but what this place does have is irregular invasions en mass of the carapace army. When they do, some of them enter through places where the human army doesn't have enough influence to stop them.
Some of them survive being slaughtered by the fallen creatures and make their home in the city itself, this increased number of Awakened creatures is called a tide.
Usually this number lasts around a week before the newcomers are either almost completely killed by the fallen ones or hunted down by us for food.
But some time ago, a huge number of creatures descended upon us. A full fledged invasion. It brought so many awakened inside the walls that they were finding their way out of the city and attacking the human settlements for a month afterwards.
Infact before the invasion happened, we had to team up with gunlaug's army to fend off the nightmare creatures.
Now after all this time, the tide's benefits are almost completely gone, I'd say this is the second last time we can hunt exclusively inside the city for enough food before having to venture out and finding food outside."
As the new data entered Sunny's mind, It was Nephis who had something to say next.
"Do you use some sort of technique to avoid the fallen abominations lying in the city?"
Effie's eyes perked up. "That's right princess, pathfinders like us figure out safe ways to traverse the streets without encountering any fallen creatures and then we hunt the Awakened ones that we can.
That's how everyone gets to eat food here." She smirked. "It's not easy feeding about two thousand people."
Then Andreas turned to Sunny. "So, if you don't mind telling us, what's the strongest creatures you two can consistently handle?"
Sunny pretended to wonder for a while, with his hand stroking his chin and everything, then with perfect non chalant casualness he answered.
"Well I've killed an Awakened tyrant, an Ascended demon, an Awakened terror, a couple of fallen monsters, and an Awakened devil until now.
Nephis hasn't had much luck fighting powerful abominations that much yet, but she's powerful enough to be around my level.
But if you are asking for our best feat together, I'll have you know we slayed a fallen devil once. It almost got me killed, but it was worth it in the end."
For a solid 30 seconds the room was absolutely silent. Then Nephis casually broke it.
"To be fair you did most of the work on that fallen devil."
Sunny shrugged. "Yeah but without your help, I would have died in the first minute."
Only when they started talking again did everyone freak out.
"What!?"
"Are you serious?"
"You killed what!!?"
"You don't have to lie here..."
Seeing the place losing order, Andreas coughed.
Immediately, everyone in the room went dead silent.
Then, he cleared him throat and started talking. A melodic voice permeated the air as he did.
" That's enough everyone, let's not jump to conclusions. Now where were we? Ah yes, the level of creatures you can kill consistently.
So, Sunny tell me, are you serious when you say that you killed those creatures?"
Sunny nodded. "Yeah, I told you, me and Neph are among the strongest sleepers you'd ever find."
Andreas' eyes darkened. "There are very few people who can claim such a feat as sleepers my friend. I don't mean to doubt you, I mean afterall it wouldn't suit heirs of the immortal flame clan to lie about their strength.
But there's only so many people who can do that here, there's me ofcourse. I have killed over a dozen fallen creatures by now. Though none of them were a devil. I once killed a fallen demon in one of Mira's visions but diesd right after.
I have become much stronger since then, but to be honest it is still a difficult feat for me."
He exhaled and put his back on his chair to rest, shifting slightly to let his wings not press against the chair.
"There's also gunlaug, who can kill fallen creatures with his golden armour. I know for a fact that that thing isn't a simple memory, it is an echo infact. A Transcendent echo. So it makes sense that he can kill fallen ones with it.
There's also members of my cohort who can face and kill a fallen when working together, the same goes for gunlaug's lieutenants.
There's a powerful lieutenant in his army that can fight fallen ones one on one too.
But Sunless, nobody and I mean literally nobody, can claim a feat as great as you are claiming. How do I know you are not lying?"
In his eyes, there wasn't malice or suspicion. But rather, hope.
That hope burning in his eyes, made Sunny both glad and a little nervous.
'I guess we are really doing this huh, becoming the hope of these people...this entire war is gonna be a pain to finish. Well let's get this done quickly atleast.'
Sunny smiled. "Because I have the memories from all six of them."
As he spoke those words, a rain of shimmering sparks filled the area around him.
By the time they dissipated, a dark fur overcoat had encompassed Sunny, while a beautiful Spear had appeared in his hands.
A flying sword with a pure white blade appeared over his shoulder some distance away too.
"These are the three Ascended memories I have gained from killing them. My garment like armour underneath, that I was already wearing came from the Awakened tyrant.
Nephis is wearing the armour from the terror. And as for the ascended demon, the memory it gave me belongs to a different friend.
So, what do you think?"
Andreas grinned wide. "I think this is perfect. I am glad Sunless, that you two have joined us."
Sunny smiled back. "As I've said before, please call me Sunny. My friends call me that."
"Uhm, can I ask a question?" Surprisingly, in the midst of all this a person Sunny did not recognise spoke up.
"Sure, what is it?" Nephis replied before Sunny did. Her mind had already gauged that Sunny didn't want to answer stray questions without knowing in advance what they would be.
She had already learnt that his flaw forced him to answer any question with the truth some time ago.
Not knowing that, the man who had asked the question continued.
"You said that you killed an Ascended demon right? Didn't you mean fallen demon? And also did you seriously just give away and Ascended memory from a demon like that?"
Hearing the question, Sunny leaned in.
"Oh yeah, that was in my first Nightmare, I ended up killing an Ascended demon still untouched by corruption. But the memory I got from it wasn't very useful for me so I gave it away."
"You killed it in your first Nightmare!?"
Sunny smirked. "Yeah, I guess that was kind of amazing huh."
"Kind of? That's insanely amazing!"
Andreas interrupted the two before it restarted another wave of whispers. "It really is. But let's not get distracted, we have much to plan."
Nephis raised her hand before he could continue. "Before that actually, if you don't mind... You called us both heirs of the immortal flame clan right? Why would you assume he is part of it too?"
Andreas blinked. "Huh? I mean given that you two are together, I assumed that you had taken him to be a part of the clan aswell."
A visible blush finally appeared on Neph's face. "Why would you assume that we are together?"
Andreas blinked again, this time a nervous sweat forming on his forehead. "Huh? I- wait you two aren't in a relationship? Then why are-". He wiped the sweat off before continuing.
"Nevermind, it was my mistake. Forgive me my lady but I thought you had followed in your mother's footsteps. I mean it just looked like it made sense. But well, I apologise."
It was Neph's turn to blink now. "Eh? What do you mean my mother's footsteps?"
"Uh don't you know? They say that broken sword appeared without a background and climbed the ranks of the Awakened world without any initial backing...until Immortal flame took interest in him.
I thought Sunny had a similar appeal to you, despite being from an Awakened family, he isn't part of a clan so."
"Andreas, we have a meeting to hold." Seeing that even their leader had started gossiping, Penthesilea finally stepped in to hold everything together.
From then on, the meeting commenced and ended with smoothness. Every single hunt was discussed in a perfect balance of briefness and detailing. There were 2000 people to feed in the outer settlement, so they needed to hunt around a hundred creatures.
Unless they got some carapace demons, whose size would make it take alot less kills.
With that, Sunny and Nephis had been officially registered as hunters of the outer settlement. While the rest of the six members of the cohort had walked upto the castle gates.
June was leading Cassie with her hand, while Caster was walking in front. Liam was next to him, weirdly enough he appeared calmer than even the legacy next to him.
It wasn't because Caster was afraid of anything, but simply because he had wanted to try and get closer with Nephis, only to be sent to somewhere far from her. He had not forgotten his goal, but everyday it seemed like he strayed further from it.
Sunless had also only given five shards for them, expecting the legacy to produce his own. 'What kind of double standard is that? Honestly if he wasn't the son of a master...but then again, his father is a government mongrel. No matter how powerful, they wouldn't know basic things like discipline and respect.'
On the gates, four guards were present. Each of them was of a stocky and large build though they weilded mismatched sets of weak memories and non magical gear.
Seeing six whole people approaching the gates, they were frowning in anticipation of a fight. It was only when Caster presented them with the six soul shards that they smirked and let them in.
They also made some vulgar comments on the girls, especially Cassie, but the cohort managed to ignore them for now.
They had all come here for a mission, to learn about the bright castle as much as possible. Starting a conflict was not going to help them now.
Inside one of the towers of the bright castle, a window shut close. Gunlaug had grown tired of observing the outer settlement's activities.
The second ruler had recruited two new hunters for his party.
"Two new insects joining him then, poor bastards. They should have come to serve me instead, the girl would have made a great plaything too. Shame."
With that, he grew bored of the spectacle and went away.
Unbeknownst to him, a new era had arrived on the forgotten shore.