Nephis quietly descended the steps towards the Night Temple, clad completely in the [Undying Chain]. The armor made her look like a ghastly revenant of old, returned to deliver bloody revenge on those who had wronged her.
In a sense, she was.
She saw the sentinels ahead, their faces barely illuminated by the torches perched along the wall. They tensed upon seeing her, the grip on their weapons tightening in expectation of violence.
She kept walking, not a hitch to be noticed in her steps as she slowly approached, like she had all the time in the world.
"Halt!" One of the sentinels barked, her voice shrill and authoritative.
Against their expectations, she did stop. The sentinels exchanged baffled stares at her action, quietly wondering what was she planning to do.
Nephis did not offer an explanation; she just stood there, quietly examining the massive open gates in front of her. She couldn't destroy them—Cassie had already said so, and she corroborated it upon seeing them for herself. If the Night Temple were to be sealed, they wouldn't be able to escape before Saint Cormac returned, at which point they would be doomed. Which is why they went with the current plan.
"Identify yourself and your reason for approaching this citadel," the same sentinel ordered. Her shrill voice was starting to get on Nephis's nerves.
Instead of answering, Nephis summoned the [Mordant Mimic]. The sentinels tensed at the action. She saw one of them nock an arrow in preparation to shoot, only to be baffled once more upon seeing the coffer. Their confused stares grew even more when the coffer morphed into a plush chair.
She sat down without any hurry, every movement measured and elegant. She crossed a leg over the other and steepled her hands over her lap as if settling in for a long wait. She even reclined slightly, as if to convey the message that she couldn't find any reason to worry about the menace they posed.
The sentinels whispered among themselves, clearly unsure about how to react to her actions. They spent several minutes like that, their whispers slowly rising in volume as they couldn't reach an agreement. She hadn't moved at all in that time—she might as well have been a statue to them.
"Then call Sir Pierce if you don't know what to do!" She heard one of them shout at last, their face red with fury.
Call a superior— the most obvious response when confronted with an unexpected situation. Cassie could have predicted that result even without her aspect. They kept arguing for a minute or two more, but in the end, they seemed to agree to that idea. One of them glared at her and left, probably to retrieve Sir Pierce.
Still, she did not move.
A few minutes later, the sentinel came back, accompanied by a tall, dark-haired man. He carried himself with the confident air of a killer, his steps completely calm as he approached.
"And who might you be?" The Master asked, though it sounded more like an order.
Nephis tilted her head slightly, the action made far more sinister by the terrifying armor she wore. She made sure to visibly look him up and down, and then, she shook her head in open disappointment.
"I expected more of a knight of Valor," she spoke at last, her voice distorted by a memory yet still carrying obvious displeasure.
"Tall words for someone who's yet to identify themselves," Pierce's eyes narrowed, his hand falling toward the longsword attached to his hip.
She did not answer. Pierce stared at her coldly, his hand resting on the pommel of the sword, preparing to unsheathe it.
"Are you the one who slaughtered that poor girl's cohort?" He asked once more, his voice carrying the message that violence would unfold if she refused to answer again.
So Cassie had succeeded in entering the Temple—she didn't doubt that she would, but it was still good to get confirmation.
For answer, she laughed loudly, macabrely, the memory's distortion making it a harrowing spectacle. Then, slowly, without any hurry, she pushed herself back to her feet.
"So what if I am?" She asked back, dark amusement tinging her voice.
Pierce unsheathed the longsword in response and dropped down from the wall. He fell in front of her, cold fury burning in his eyes.
"You committed a mistake by coming here, you monster," he spat, venom lacing his words. He sure got attached to Cassie quickly, or more accurately, to the image of the friend he had lost in a situation quite similar to this. Whoever thought that Cassie's aspect wasn't dangerous just because it didn't offer offensive power was a fool.
"You will be dead in four strikes of my sword," she said. It wasn't part of the script, but it still did its job of unsettling him.
One of the armrests of the plush chair unfolded, and before any of them could react, she plunged her hand inside and retrieved something that she promptly threw toward the sentinel with the shrill voice. By pure instinct, the woman caught it, only to blanch upon seeing what was in her hands.
A mirror shard.
Chaos erupted immediately. She dashed toward Pierce before he had the chance to issue orders, her left hand raised to deliver a punch while the right summoned the [Cruel Sight].
The Master was no slouch—he blocked the attack without any difficulty and retaliated with his sword. She parried the edge of the blade with her vambrace, the collision producing a rain of sparks that neither of them were distracted by. Nephis stepped back before he could try again.
The [Cruel Sight] finished forming in her hand, Pierce's face paling upon seeing it. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, she advanced once more, the mirror blade coated in a deadly poison belonging to a manticore-like nightmare creature she had killed a few days ago. He recovered just in time, his sword coming up to face hers.
They clashed swords, her arms growing numb from the force with which the Master had responded. He was strong—there was no doubt about it. It wouldn't save him.
She risked a quick glance toward the sentinels, only to find that none of them remained alive, their corpses lying broken over the gates. Only the shrill sentinel was missing. Mordret sure worked fast.
A furious attack came, and she dismissed the distracting thoughts. He had his task, and she had hers.
She parried the blow and riposted with one arm, her blade aiming for his throat. A split second before the attack connected, white flames ignited her form, unbearable pain following right after.
Pierce blocked the strike, but unprepared for the sudden increase of strength, he staggered, his equilibrium broken for just a moment. She didn't need more.
Her free arm gripped his right and set it ablaze, the smell of molten iron and burnt flesh following right after. To his credit, the man did not scream, choosing instead to disengage in order to assess the situation.
He probably thought that he could afford to stall; after all, as strong as Mordret was, he was still just a man against a little under a hundred Awakened and the other Master in the citadel. How wrong he was.
She did not educate him. Instead, she channeled all of her flames into her body and erupted into action. The distance between them disappeared in a fraction of a second, her blade once more coming for his throat.
He blocked again, but this time, limited to a single arm against her two, he faltered—the block folding against her might. In an impressive showcase of skill, he still managed to redirect the worst of the blow toward his shoulder, where a deep gouge was left on the armor.
He attempted to disengage once more, recognizing that he was in a disadvantageous position. She allowed it. Or rather, she allowed him to think so. Distracted by their fight, Pierce hadn't noticed that the plush chair was gone from its position. Had he done so, he might have had a chance to escape the inevitable. Alas, he didn't.
Pierce carefully stepped back, his gaze trained solely on her. This is why he didn't realize in time when he stepped on something that wasn't the ground of the Night Temple. The jaws snapped shut instantly, and with it, his right leg was broken, the [Mordant Mimic] having transformed into a bear's trap.
Before he could react, she dashed for a final time, her blade once more aiming toward his neck. He tried to block, but limited to a single arm and unbalanced by his broken leg, he couldn't put up a significant resistance. The block folded without stopping her at all, and soon, a red line was carved across his neck, his head falling down a second after.
[You have slain an Ascended Human, Pierce]
[Your soul shines brighter]
The rush of soul fragments stunned her briefly, but she recovered quickly. In comparison to what she had obtained from killing Solvane, this was nothing.
Not paying any heed to the man's corpse—though she did feel a sort of cold amusement at having predicted correctly how many strikes it would take—she quickly advanced into the temple. The commotion was dying out, but if she could still hear it, then it mustn't be done yet.
She ran into a few Awakened on her search for Cassie, but they all died without much in the way of effort. They were skilled, sure, but they were nothing in comparison to her.
A minute or two later, she finally arrived at the inner Sanctum of the temple, where she saw Cassie accompanied by a sentinel—a man this time—who was smiling cheerfully.
"If it isn't my other savior!" The man said exuberantly, his voice calm and pleasant.
She merely nodded to Mordret's vessel. After what she had done, she wasn't in the mood to talk.
"Have you killed Pierce?" Cassie asked, her head slightly tilted as if she was carefully listening for something.
"Yes," was her immediate answer.
The Seer nodded and stepped aside, revealing the corpse of the other Master, a familiar rapier piercing the back of her skull. Cassie's task was to enter the Night Temple and lay the groundwork to lure Master Pierce away, and once the fight started, to assassinate Master Welthe before she could muster a proper resistance.
In the distance, Nephis heard a scream, followed by complete silence. Cassie nodded as if waiting for precisely that, and her shoulders relaxed.
"It is done. No one remains alive but us," she said, her voice carefully neutral, transmitting no judgment over what they had just done.
Another person joined them in the Sanctum, a red-haired woman carrying an ivory knife. A woman who revealed herself to be a carbon copy of Master Welthe, or rather, as her Echo. Cassie was quite lucky when it came to receiving them.
A slow clap dragged their attention toward Mordret, who, upon having their focus, repeated the action, this time far more animatedly.
"My, my, I must admit that I'm a little embarrassed. Here I was, trapped for years, and yet you two rescued me so easily." The smile on the man's body grew even wider.
All in all, from start to finish, the raid had taken little more than seven minutes. Seven minutes... in just seven minutes, so many lives had been extinguished. An astounding success that could only be attributed to their meticulous planning and strength.
The triumph did nothing to stop her from feeling sick.
"Thank you. I only hope that you will be just as willing to fulfill your part of the deal as you are to praise us," Cassie answered.
She took the ivory knife from her Echo's hand and quietly offered it to Nephis, who stored it in the mimic. Nephis did not miss the displeased look that briefly appeared in Mordret's eyes.
"But of course, my fair lady! There is nothing my heart yearns for more than to choke the life out of my dearest father," he answered, his voice sending a chill through her veins.
They kept talking, but Nephis had stopped listening. Her gaze settled on the lifeless eyes of Welthe's Echo. Echoes had no mind of their own, being little more than puppets in the image of their originals. So why did it feel like the Echo was accusing her with its eyes?
-------------------------------------------
Nephis looked somberly at the burning temple in front of her. It was a necessity—they couldn't afford to leave any proof of their deed.
She still couldn't avoid being slightly horrified by her actions. They had spent a year in the Forgotten Shore, desperately looking for a way out. They had mounted a suicidal assault on the Crimson Spire to reach the only Gateway in the whole region. He was still out there, presumably looking for one himself.
And here she was, destroying one of her own free choice. Life sure loved its ironies.
At her right side, there was Cassie, just as somber as she was.
At her left, there was Mordret, the flames—not her own, she did not want to risk leaving any more traces—reflecting in his mirror-like eyes. It was impossible not to notice the sheer glee in his eyes as he watched his prison burn.
They left after a few more minutes of watching the conflagration, the temple still burning behind them as they fled the scene of their crime.
An hour later, they found the ship, right where they had left it. It still amazed her that it could fly fast enough to get them from Shipwreck Island to the Night Temple in less than a day. Cassie had truly outdone herself.
"Well, this is it for this body. It was a pleasure while it lasted," Mordret said cheerfully. Then, walking to the edge of the island and giving them a courteous bow, he let himself fall back into the dark abyss. Just before he did, the body lost all motion, as if it were a puppet whose strings had been cut.
He was going to travel with them in a mirror—a necessary precaution in case they were intercepted on the way toward the island where they would pick up the cohort.
-------------------------------------------
A week later, their descent across the Sky Below ended. The Ebony Tower came into view, its ominous appearance making it look like a dark spear aimed at the heavens.
Nephis felt relieved at the sight. The ship was big, but not big enough to avoid attention if someone wanted to find you. And there was always someone who wanted to speak to her. Why couldn't they get the hint? Her right brow had a slight incline while the other was perfectly straight; it was obvious she wanted to be left alone!
Sunny would understand.
She shook her head before she could get lost in that line of thought and stepped onto the isle, her eyes scanning the ruined buildings in search of any danger. When she found none, she advanced toward the pagoda, the others quickly joining her only to be stumped when they found no handle, keylock, or any other discernible way to open the gate.
Fortunately, Cassie seemed to have an idea about how to open it, as she walked ahead confidently and slowly traced her fingers across the smooth surface, as if searching for something. She must have found it, for the door opened soon after.
"You are free to enter and explore the first floor, but under no circumstances are any of you to go into the second floor until a day has passed," Cassie said, her voice completely serious, brooking no argument.
Nephis nodded, adding her support to the order. Cassie had already explained what awaited there, and she was just as unwilling to face it as she was.
-------------------------------------------
A day and a half later, they were finally free to explore the Obsidian Tower, something that everyone seemed happy about. It made sense; they had spent a week on a ship with not much to see besides darkness and divine fire. And now, here they were, in a place that had been hidden for ages. Even the least adventurous among them wanted to take a look around.
She ascended the stairs toward the second floor, with Cassie and Kai behind her. As she ascended, she idly wondered how the arm of a god would look.
She didn't have to wait much—just a minute or two later, they arrived at the second floor, which was a massive hall in which only a massive silver brazier could be found. She saw something inside the brazier, which she assumed to be the arm mentioned by Cassie.
She was going to approach to get a better look, but just as she made her first step onto the floor proper, golden strings came to life around the brazier. The strings started shining, their intensity growing with each second until it became blinding even for her. She could also see the same light coming from the stairs that would lead them to the next floor.
There was a flash, and then, the strings disappeared.
"It's gone," Cassie whispered, a quick look revealing a horrified expression on her face.
Along with the strings, the arm inside the brazier had disappeared too.
-------------------------------------------
Within the Tomb of Ariel, inside a nightmare that millions had tried and failed to conquer, beyond the estuary, a tomb could be found, belonging to none other than a Daemon. Along the tomb, there was a tree that had produced a single golden fruit. Under the watchful gaze of the Vile Thieving Bird, a being hated by both the divine and the profane, the fruit was surrounded by golden strings and then disappeared.
Under the real Bastion, inside the Great Mirror, a city could be found. Within the city, in the basement of a church, another Great Mirror existed— even more radiant than the original. It had lasted untold eons, and it would last untold more. However, under the horrified gaze of Omer of the Nine, a crack appeared on the great mirror, followed by the disappearance of a fragment of said mirror.
In the Jade Palace, within the playroom, a board of 'Death of a Tyrant' could be found. The pieces were settled in position, still awaiting the next play thousands of years after the game had been interrupted. Within the game, a massive black moth felt a strange sensation arising within it— a sensation that the Spirit of Doubt recognized as belonging to Weaver's own essence. However, before it could react, a bright light erupted out of its body, taking its life along with it, and with it, the jade figurine resting inside it.
Deep beneath the Stormsea, lay the Eternal City, where immortals walked the streets. At its center, a glorious castle rested, watching over the once-glorious city. Within the chamber that had once housed the horror known as the Flesh of Kanakht as well as the shadows of the city's residents, a star could be found. Within the star, a scroll resided, patiently awaiting the arrival of its master heir, only to be surrounded by golden strings and disappear.
Deep in the Underworld, in a place that had not seen anything akin to light in an age, golden strings appeared. They roamed as if lost, searching for something that was no longer there. They doggedly continued the search, only to be snuffed out by the horror ruling the dark expanse.