Sunny sat on the very edge of the plateau, boots dangling as the sun bled out behind the Crimson Spire. The towering monolith caught the dying light like a blade on fire, its jagged surface glowing a murderous red.
He watched the black water of the Dark Sea churn and roar, swallowing the coral towers one by one. The labyrinth vanished beneath the rising tide.
The last few days in the Dark City had been hectic, Hunting the Lord of the Dead in the catacombs of the Dark City, finalizing the assault plans for the Spire, then the grueling march across the Forgotten Shore.
Behind him, the army of seven hundred Sleepers scrambled to extinguish their campfires. No one wanted to draw the attention of the monsters that lived in the black water
Footsteps approached. Sunny didn't need to turn to know who it was. Still, he glanced over as Nephis lowered herself beside him, close enough that their shoulders brushed.
He studied her face in the dimming light. He could see the faint strain around her eyes, the subtle, lingering ache that always followed the use of her Aspect.
'She was healing people again… of course she was.'
There hadn't been many injuries today, but Sunny knew without question that Nephis had gone through the entire camp, checking on every Sleeper, making sure each one was ready for tomorrow's siege.
"Is everything ready?" He asked quietly.
"Mm" Her answer was vague and distracted. She leaned into him without seeming to notice she'd done it.
Sunny raised an eyebrow. "You're distracted. What's wrong?"
"It's nothing, just…" Nephis hesitated, turning her head away as though searching for the right words.
Then, with a soft exhale, she faced him fully. Her silver eyes were steady, but something fragile flickered beneath the surface.
"I'm a monster."
That gave Sunny pause as he registered what she just said. Were it anyone else, they might have thought Nephis was being poetic or brooding over the actions she took to reach this point.
But Sunny knew better.
He smirked. "In that case, I'm a devil."
Nephis's jaw dropped slightly. She closed her mouth, opened it again, then tilted her head with a furrowed brow.
'Ah, how cute.'
She gathered herself, shaking her head as resolve hardened her expression.
"No, Sunny. I mean… I have two soul cores. I… have a divine Aspect."
She said with all the solemnity such a claim deserved.
Sunny's smirk only widened.
"I know, like I said, I'm a devil."
Her face went through an entire sequence, confusion, dawning realization, then stunned disbelief. This time her jaw dropped and stayed that way.
Sunny burst into laughter. "Oh wow, that's a look I've only ever seen on Kai."
Nephis, Changing Star, the last daughter of the Immortal Flame clan, pouted, actually pouted, and pinched his thigh.
"Ow!" Sunny hissed, trying not to yelp. "Hey!"
"Stop that," she muttered, though her voice was steadier now. She drew a slow breath, then looked at him with narrowed eyes.
"How are you a Devil already? It took me until I killed Gunlaug for me to form my second core."
"Remember how I said I had things to do back in the cathedral?"
Nephis nodded, leaning in slightly, listening intently.
"Well, I found a secret passage that led to a hidden room. And in that room I found a shadow core-" Sunny paused, waving a hand vaguely. "That's what the spell calls my soul cores. Oh, and that's why I can't absorb soul shards… I'm getting off‑topic."
He cleared his throat.
"So I found this shadow core, and it gave me seven thousand shadow fragments when I touched it. I went from a beast straight to a devil. It hurt like a bitch. Seriously, it was the worst pain I've ever felt."
Nephis's eyes widened.
"Seven thousand?" she whispered, before glaring at him. "That's unfair."
"Unfair? More like deserved. With the amount of crap my fated attribute puts me through, I think I earned the windfall." Sunny crossed his arms indignantly. "Also, you got a new sword out of it, so stop complaining."
She huffed, but the corner of her mouth twitched upward
"That's… that's good to know. Thank you for sharing it with me." Her voice softened, the tension in her shoulders easing just a fraction.
Sunny shrugged, returning her smile. "Felt like it was about time. I trust you, Neph."
He stretched, joints popping. "We should get some sleep."
He rose to his feet as Nephis shifted, drawing her knees to her chest, arms wrapping around them.
"Go on ahead," she murmured. "I want to think for a bit."
Sunny nodded and headed back toward the camp.
He didn't notice the slight tremor in her voice.
He didn't see the whitened knuckles where she clutched her own arms.
He didn't hear the breath she held, or the one she shakily let out after he was gone.
***
The next morning, as the sun dawned on the forgotten shore, the Dreamer army descended into the coral labyrinth and began the final stretch of their march to the spire.
From the far end of the labyrinth, a tide of nightmare creatures surged forward, an amalgamation of every tribe that haunted the Forgotten Shore. Chitinous limbs scraped against scaled hides, wings beat against the air, and hundreds of eyes glowed with feral hunger. Their usual infighting was gone; the Crimson Terror had welded them into a single, monstrous force.
Effie led the center of the army with Caster and Gemma by her sides, their expressions grim with determination. On the outer edges, the remaining Castle Guards braced themselves as they prepared for the first impact. Hunters and Handmaidens moved within the formation, ready to intercept the most dangerous abominations before they could tear into the ranks.
Behind them, Seishan commanded the second line. Her soldiers stood ready to surge forward the moment the first line faltered. Further back still, Kai led the third line, an uneasy mix of ranged combatants and artisans manning the siege engines.
High above it all, perched on a tall coral mound, Sunny watched the first collision. The two forces slammed together with a deafening sound.
Screams, roars, and battlecries filled the air. The battlefield churned into a grotesque tapestry of motion, limbs, fangs, and steel twisting together in a frenzy of violence.
Beside him, Nephis stood silent. The white flames burning in her eyes cast stark light across her face. After a long moment, she turned toward him.
"It's time."
Sunny exhaled slowly, nodding. He unfastened the long bundle from his back and peeled away the cloth. The tenebrous odachi drank in the light, its surface rippling like liquid night. He rested the transcended blade on his shoulder, feeling its weight settle into place.
"I'm gonna miss this blade when we get out of here." He murmured, a wistful smile tugging at his lips.
A smile tugged at the corner of Nephis's lips as she patted the hilt of her own transcended sword.
"Me too."
Sunny's gaze shifted to Cassie.
"Hey, Cas. I'll see you on the other side."
She lingered for a bit, then nodded slowly and turned away.
"...Don't die."
He let out a breath that was half a sigh, half a laugh.
"That's my cue, I guess."
Together, he and Nephis walked over to the edge of the coral mound and jumped down, leaving the blind girl standing alone on its top.
They landed softly. Sunny straightened and gave Nephis a small wave.
"I'll go first. Good luck."
With that he turned in the direction of the battlefield and inhaled deeply.
The whole battlefield had turned into a realm of blood, death… and shadow. The more corpses piled on the net, the deeper and darker the shadows became.
Stepping into the darkness he became almost invisible, wrapping his own shadows around him. In the next heartbeat, he shot forward like a bullet.
The medical tent loomed ahead, its canvas walls trembling as a winged nightmare creature tore at it from within.
Sunny didn't break stride. He ran past.
Aiko and an artisan struggled with a ballista, trying to load a steel spear while their hands shook from exhaustion and fear.
Sunny's eyes flicked toward them, then he ran past.
He slipped between archers loosing arrows as fast as they could draw, their faces pale with terror. Kai stood among them with a lost look on his face.
Sunny ignored him and ran past.
He darted through the second line, where soldiers fought desperately to keep the monsters from overrunning the archers. He ducked under a swinging claw, vaulted over a fallen sleeper, and wove through the chaos of the first line.
He moved like a dancer, fluid and precise. The shadows welcomed him, masking his presence as he glided through the horde. Time seemed to stretch on, every heartbeat felt like an eternity.
Then, suddenly, the press of bodies fell away.
Sunny burst free of the mass of nightmare creatures and skidded to a halt at the edge of a vast moat of black water. Beyond it, the Crimson Spire rose like a wound in the sky.
No longer hidden beneath the shade of the iron net, Sunny felt the weight of hundreds of hungry gazes snap toward him at once. The nightmare creatures crossing the coral bridge froze mid‑stride, their twisted bodies turning in unison as if pulled by a single will.
A shiver crawled up his spine.
'Great. Just what I needed.'
He had two options.
Fight his way through the horde…
Or have Saint throw him across the moat like a sack of potatoes and pray.
Gripping his odachi tightly, Sunny studied the incoming tide of monsters. He could see the tail end of the swarm now.
He summoned Saint, shadows coiling around her marble form. One of his shadows flowed into her, sinking into the stone and her crimson eyes shined brighter.
"Watch my back," he muttered.
Saint nodded once.
Sunny charged.
The first creature, a carapace centurion, lunged with a shriek, its scythe‑like arms slicing the air. Sunny dropped low, feeling the wind of the blades skim over his hair.
He rose in the same motion, odachi flashing upward in a diagonal arc. The transcended steel parted the centurion's shell as though it were wet clay, bisecting the monster cleanly.
He darted past the falling corpse.
A giant centipede burst from the mass, mandibles clacking. Sunny sidestepped, pivoted, and took its head off with a single smooth stroke. The body writhed for a moment before collapsing.
Two humanoid rock creatures lumbered toward him next. He didn't slow. One sweeping slash cut through both at the waist, their torsos sliding apart with a grinding crack.
Behind him, Saint intercepted a massive spider, her shield ringing as its legs hammered against it. She shoved it back with a brutal heave, sending the creature tumbling into the black water below. The splash was swallowed instantly by the churning moat.
Sunny slipped deep into a battle trance. His thoughts quieted. His heartbeat steadied. His body moved with a certainty that wasn't entirely his own.
He watched the shadows of his enemies more than their bodies. Every twitch, every shift, every murderous intention was written there.
Any creature he couldn't kill before it struck, he dodged. Anything he couldn't dodge, Saint blocked.
The monsters were strong enough to maim him with a single blow. So he simply didn't let them.
With three shadows empowering him and a transcended weapon in his hands he had the absolute advantage in both speed and lethality.
By the time he and Saint reached the middle of the coral bridge, the horde behind them was nothing but shattered shells, broken limbs, and severed corpses.
Sunny risked a glance back, and froze.
What he saw was a scene of total devastation.
"I did that?" he asked aloud, turning his head to Saint with questioning eyes.
The reticent statue just shrugged in reply.
Sunny frowned.
"I really need to find out what the hell is happening to me…" He sighed and shook his head sharply.
"Never mind, thoughts for later, we have a job to do."
He sprinted across the remaining length of the bridge. With the path finally clear, he reached the base of the cyclopean Spire.
'Seven severed heads… guarding seven locks…'
Cassie's words echoed in his mind.
He scanned the area and found them.
Arranged in a semicircle before the Spire's wall were the colossal stone heads of the statues scattered across the Forgotten Shore.
The Lord. The Priestess. The Knight. The Hunter. The Builder. The Slayer. The Stranger.
Their empty eyes stared toward the gargantuan gates.
On those gates, seven radiant stars were carved into the ancient stone. Each star held a dark, keyhole at its center.
'This feels like a trap.'
He sprinted toward the gates, Saint close behind.
The ground trembled. Shards of coral erupted upward, twisting and knitting themselves into familiar forms.
The seven heroes rose again, reborn as coral golems.
Sunny groaned. "Seven of you? Do you really think this will be enough to stop me?"
He didn't slow down as he struck, the Stranger blocked it with his shield but lost the arm attached to it in return.
A fraction later Sunny ducked under the beak of a war hammer aiming for his temple and slashed upwards, carving a deep wound into the flank of the builder before it could retreat.
Saint crashed into the Stranger, blocking its blade and driving her stone sword through its neck. The head toppled.
'One down.' Sunny thought as Saint raised her shield and tapped her sword against it twice.
They split up as they faced the remaining coral golems.
The Knight, the Builder, and the Hunter attacked Saint, however with the Builder wounded and Saint empowered she was slowly but surely overpowering her opponents
Sunny on the other hand faced off against the Slayer, and the Priestess.
He struck first, aiming to gut the Slayer. She slipped under his guard, her stiletto flashing. The Priestess circled behind him, fists raised.
He twisted his body so the Slayer's stiletto grazed his ribs instead of puncturing his lung, but the Priestess's punch slammed into his kidney like a sledgehammer.
Pain flared in his side, gritting his teeth Sunny used the momentum of the blow and spun out of range of the two golems.
A grin tugged at his lips, now he could take advantage of his odachi's reach.
He swept low with the dark blades edge, the Priestess dodged with a quick hop but the Slayer wasn't fast enough and her foot went flying.
The Priestess lunged forwards and Sunny took a step back and slashed upwards, the golem halted and leaned back, narrowly avoiding decapitation.
He took a half step forward and thrust the blade into her chest, in return the golem grabbed his blade and tried to wrench it from Sunny's hands.
Sunny simply pushed the blade down and the transcended edge sheared through her fingers and delivered a dreadful wound her torso, nearly splitting her in half.
He dropped low and spun, slashing horizontally.
The Slayer leapt, straight into the arc of his blade. She split apart mid‑air.
Panting, Sunny planted the odachi's tip into the ground and looked toward Saint.
The fearsome shadow had finished her foes as well, though not unscathed. Half a coral spear jutted from her side, ruby dust leaking from the wound like blood.
Satisfied that his most powerful ally wasn't about to die on him, Sunny shouldered his blade, together they walked towards the golem of the Lord.
The creature did not put up much of a fight and soon was in pieces.
Looking upon the gate of the Crimson Spire, Sunny summoned the oath keys and one by one inserted them into the locks.
The moment the last lock was filled the world shuddered.
And the gargantuan gates opened.
The black water surged upward, sucked into the Spire's depths with impossible force. More water than the tower could ever contain poured inside, vanishing as though falling into an endless abyss.
Minutes later, the dark sea was gone, along with all the horrors that dwelled within it.
Sunlight spilled across the Forgotten Shore.
And something inside Sunny burned.
His eyes widened.
'Soul damage!'
He didn't know how, but he knew what this sensation was.
He spun toward the battlefield. Nightmare creatures were collapsing, their souls unraveling under the invisible assault.
He summoned the Silver Bell and its ringing rolled across the labyrinth.
Far away, Nephis turned toward him.
Come on. Come on, Neph!
He rang the bell again, waving frantically.
The Dreamer army surged toward the Spire and Nephis sprinted to Cassie in the rear.
Before Sunny could enter the tower, Kai crashed into the ground nearby, groaning.
Sunny grabbed him by the collar and dragged him inside.
Moments later, the remnants of the army poured into the Spire. Nephis arrived last, Cassie in her arms.
Sunny exhaled shakily.
They'd done it.
The battle for the Crimson Spire was over.
Now they only had to find the Gateway hidden somewhere within the ancient tower.
A/N: Hey all, I'm back, works been pretty hectic recently so I can't promise one chap a week but I'll try my best.
Let me know how I did with this chap, especially the dialogue, I'm not that confidant in my skills in that department.
Next chapter will be the last chapter in the forgotten shore so look forward to it.