The place where the cohort was holding sparring sessions was a plaza roughly a hundred meters long and wide, surrounded by abandoned houses. At the center of the plaza, Sunny and Caster were currently fighting each other without using their Aspects.
The rest of the cohort was watching the fight from the corner farthest from the center. Nephis was leaning against a wall with her arms crossed, her gray eyes observing every detail of the sparring match. Effie and Kai were talking to each other, occasionally glancing at the fight.
The moment they felt Arthur's presence, the three of them turned to look at him. Changing Star's expression remained neutral, but anyone paying close attention would notice her eyebrows lowering by a few millimeters. The duo's reactions were far friendlier. Effie started waving at him, and Kai flashed a bright smile.
Stopping a few meters away and staring intently at the fight, Arthur said,
"Caster's stance during that last strike was wrong. Did you notice? His center of gravity was too high to attempt that blow, and yet he still went for it. In that situation, a feint would've been far better."
Effie and Kai's expressions shifted to less cheerful ones, and they exchanged glances. When Effie opened her mouth to say something, Nephis spoke first.
"Yes, but if it had been a feint, Sunny could have read his intent and not fallen for it. Caster sacrificed attack power with the intention of landing a hit rather than breaking Sunny's rhythm."
Arthur looked at her and smiled at her argument.
"You're right about that. But at the same time, breaking your opponent's rhythm can be more advantageous in the long run than simply landing a hit that doesn't deal much damage."
Changing Star met his gaze.
"That kind of low-damage hit might be exactly what breaks the balance Sunny had been building and shortens the fight."
"Trying to shorten a fight through brute force never ends well," Arthur commented, still looking straight at her. "You always end up sacrificing defense for an offense that even a ten-year-old could exploit, and eventually you give up control of the fight."
When Nephis was about to respond, the sound of a sword striking the ground echoed through the plaza, and all four of them turned back to the fight. Sunny had defeated Caster.
Effie looked Arthur up and down, then turned to Nephis.
"Looks like you lost that one, Princess."
Changing Star didn't bother responding or even turning around, and instead began walking toward the center of the plaza.
'Looks like she doesn't like losing,' Arthur thought.
Taking advantage of the moment, he moved closer to Kai and Effie. They watched as Nephis gave Sunny advice about what he had done during the fight, while Caster walked toward the other group, drinking water.
At that moment, Arthur felt another presence approaching. When he turned, he saw a beautiful woman walking with confident steps. Her long black hair was tied back, with a few loose strands falling along the sides of her forehead. Her red lips contrasted sharply with her gray skin, making it impossible to look away. What stood out the most, however, were the droplets of fresh blood scattered across her armor and the thin line trailing down from her lips.
By now, Arthur had grown accustomed to encountering Seishan like this. During his first weeks in the castle, he had run into her the same way, and he wouldn't lie—at first, it had scared him a little. As their friendship grew, he got used to it, and now it barely caught his attention. Still, it was undeniably strange.
"Hey, Shan. What brings you here?" Arthur asked, pulling a small white cloth from one of the pockets of his armor and stepping closer to offer it.
She took it calmly, wiped her lips with it, then summoned a Memory that produced fire and burned the cloth.
"Thanks for the cloth, Arthur. And hello. I saw you here and thought I'd come over. If you're doing sparring matches, I'd like to join."
He smiled, then looked at Effie and Kai.
"Why don't we do some two-on-two sparring? Seishan and I as a team against you two?"
Effie shrugged.
"Why not? Let's call the others and form the teams."
She immediately shouted for the rest of the cohort, using a volume so loud that Arthur was certain it echoed through almost the entire castle.
A few minutes later, the teams were formed as follows: Arthur and Seishan together; Effie and Kai as another team; Sunny and Nephis as a third. That left Caster alone, but fortunately Gemma heard Effie's shouting and came over, initially thinking it was a Nightmare Creature. Seeing that it wasn't, he stayed for the sparring and teamed up with Caster.
Arthur considered calling Sylvie, but she was busy at the moment and couldn't participate.
The first match was between Sunny and Nephis's team versus Caster and Gemma.
The rules were:
Free use of Aspects and MemoriesAvoid lethal blowsThe team that forced the other to surrender first would win
Arthur had never seen Sunny fight before—aside from the sparring match he'd just had with Caster—so he didn't really know what to expect. He was familiar with Caster and Nephis from the academy, and with Gemma from a few hunts they'd done together. Sunny, however, was a complete mystery to him, especially after everything Cassie had told him earlier.
'Should I check if his Flaw is that he can't lie?' he wondered.
He decided to do it, but as subtly as possible. Sunny was clearly intelligent. Suddenly bombarding him with questions would only raise suspicion.
Moments later, Sunny and Nephis stood in one corner with their armor and swords summoned, while Caster and Gemma took position in the opposite corner, preparing to start the sparring match.
At that moment, Kai looked at Arthur and Seishan.
"Sir Arthur, Lady Seishan, if I may, I'd like to ask something."
They both stopped looking forward and turned to the archer. Simultaneously, they smiled and replied:
"Sure, of course."
"Go ahead."
Kai blinked several times, clearly surprised by their synchronized response.
'Was that natural, or did they practice it?' the charming archer wondered.
"Kai?" Arthur asked, raising an eyebrow.
Snapping back to reality, Kai lightly shook his head.
"Ah, sorry, I spaced out." He hesitated for a second before continuing. "I wanted to ask how you ended up becoming King and Queen of the Castle while we were away."
Arthur and Seishan looked at each other almost at the same time.
It wasn't a long look, nor one heavy with obvious meaning, but it was enough for Kai to frown.
"Did I say something wrong?" he asked, slightly confused.
Arthur let out a small exhale, more amused than annoyed, and looked at the archer.
"To start with," he said calmly, "we'd have to be a couple to be King and Queen. And we're not."
Kai's eyes widened slightly.
"Oh."
Seishan turned her face toward Arthur. Her expression was hard to read—there was no anger or surprise, but it wasn't neutral either. It was something… different. Kai couldn't quite place it, and she said nothing.
Arthur looked forward again.
"That said, the story is a bit longer than it seems."
***
Three months earlier, Arthur and Sylvie had barely arrived at the outer settlement when night was already falling. The first thing they saw were several stalls where people were talking among themselves, passing the time. Their expressions did not reflect the conditions Arthur had imagined the people living here would be enduring.
Approaching one of the stalls slowly, Arthur drew a calm smile on his face.
"Excuse me, could any of you give us a hand with something?"
There were five Sleepers around the stall. They wore simple, worn robes, and they were talking about completely normal things. When they turned to see who had spoken, all five of their eyes widened, especially those of the three women in the group.
A few seconds passed in complete silence.
Eventually, one of the women cleared her throat.
"Ah… yes. What do you need?"
"Hello, my name is Arthur, and this is Sylvie," he said, gesturing toward her. Sylvie inclined her head slightly in greeting.
"We just arrived in the city. Would you be kind enough to give us some information about the situation?"
The faces of the woman who had spoken and the other four became completely rigid.
One of them was the first to react.
"You just arrived at the Dark City?"
"Yes. We were lost in the labyrinth for a while, and it took us some time to get here."
Sylvie spoke up immediately.
"By the way, how long has it been since the last Winter Solstice?"
The woman glanced at the others before answering.
"About six months."
Silence settled in once more.
'That's a lot more time than I thought.'
The woman blinked, as if she had just remembered something.
"Ah… where are my manners?" She straightened up slightly.
"My name is Sid. I'm a hunter from the outer settlement. Come on, I'll explain how everything works."
She gestured for them to follow her.
"Thank you," Arthur replied.
He gave a slight nod of farewell to the other four Sleepers and began walking behind Sid alongside Sylvie.
As they moved away, Arthur caught two whispered voices behind them.
"Ahh! Such a cutie."
"I'm so jealous of Sid right now!"
Arthur didn't react.
Along the way, Sid explained how the Dark City functioned for the rest of the afternoon. There was no Gateway inside the city—the only one was located in the Crimson Spire, which made any permanent escape distant and dangerous. She also told them about Nephis and her cohort, how they had arrived from the castle, and everything they had done for the people of the outer settlement. Before their arrival, the place had been little more than a precarious refuge—disorganized and constantly on the verge of collapse. With them, there was at least order, clear hunting routes, and a certain degree of implicit protection.
The comparison was obvious. Before, they survived however they could; now, they survived because someone had decided to shoulder the burden.
When she finished explaining the basics, Sid led them to a small cabin where Arthur and Sylvie would stay for the remainder of their time there. It wasn't large or comfortable, but it was safe. By the time the sun fully set, Sid had to leave to attend to other matters, and night closed in over the settlement.
The next morning, Arthur and Sylvie decided to explore the settlement on their own. They spoke with other Sleepers, heard similar versions of the story, and confirmed what Sid had told them. Everyone seemed tired, but not desperate. That difference mattered.
In the afternoon, they met Sid again, and she filled in the remaining gaps. She explained how the hunts worked, how resources were distributed, and how the settlement stayed afloat through a combination of their own efforts and Nephis's cohort.
That was when several hunters from the castle appeared.
They entered noisily, shoving people aside and claiming resources with little subtlety. Arthur took a step forward, ready to intervene, but Sid stopped him immediately. She told him it was too dangerous, that Nephis had been clear with her orders: endure it and don't escalate the situation.
Arthur asked what kind of problems something like that could cause.
Sid then explained the matter of Effie. According to the official rumors, she had killed a couple of castle hunters. But no one there believed it. Everyone knew Gunlaug was just looking for an excuse to take her and carry out his own version of "justice," weakening both the outer settlement and Nephis in the process.
That left a clear mark on Arthur.
The next day, he and Sylvie joined the hunts with Sid's group, which consisted of the other four Sleepers they had met on the first day.
The first hunt was an absolute success. There was little reason to doubt it. Arthur had two cores and was halfway to forming a third. Sylvie kept her core saturated thanks to the shards they had saved during their journey. Sid and her group were experienced hunters who knew the terrain well.
On that first outing, they managed to bring down one Awakened beast and one Fallen. It was a clean, fast fight, exactly how things had to be in the Dark City, where any prolonged battle could attract more creatures.
The next day, they repeated the feat. And the next day as well.
They continued like that until the end of the week. By then, thanks largely to Arthur, that small cohort had hunted around twelve Awakened creatures and close to five Fallen Beasts. It was an impressive number even for well-organized groups, especially considering that each fight had to be resolved quickly and precisely.
For Arthur, however, there was a complication.
The only way he could obtain fragments was by using shards after the hunts. If he delivered the killing blow, he would absorb the shard automatically and he didn't want that to become known. Not for any specific or strategic reason. He simply wanted to keep it secret.
And so, the week ended.
With enough information about the outer settlement and a fairly clear picture of how that side of the Dark City functioned, Arthur and Sylvie made a decision. It was time to enter the castle and learn the other side of the story.
***
Back in the present, Arthur noticed how Sunny narrowly dodged a downward strike from Gemma, twisting his body with unsettling precision. At the same time, Nephis took a step forward and, with a subtle shift of her footing, redirected Caster's attack, forcing him to retreat.
The fight remained evenly matched.
"I see…" Kai said after a few seconds. "Twelve Awakened and five Fallen in a single week is quite a lot, actually."
Effie let out a low laugh and added without thinking much about it, "The real injustice is that Sid had you all to herself for an entire week."
Arthur, Kai, and Seishan all turned their heads at the same time and looked at her with raised eyebrows.
Effie opened her mouth to add something else, but Kai cut in first.
"And how was it in the castle, then?"
Arthur glanced at the fight for a moment, watching Sunny and Nephis force Caster and Gemma apart.
"Well," he said at last, "it was the same… and completely different at the same time."
***
The following week, when they entered the castle, the first thing that caught their attention was how empty it felt. Considering the number of Sleepers living in the outer settlement, it made no sense. The second thing was far worse: the constant fear etched into the faces of those who lived there. It wasn't simple caution, it was terror. As if making the slightest mistake meant death… or something worse.
The first few days were quiet. There weren't many opportunities to gather information like there were outside. People were closed off and distant, which was entirely logical given the fear they lived under.
Midway through the week, Arthur witnessed something he disliked intensely.
While they were eating lunch, a group of hunters burst into the dining hall and shoved aside the central tables, forcibly clearing the area. Shortly after, the lieutenants began to enter: Tessai, Gemma, Kido, and finally Seishan. Behind them, several hunters dragged a Sleeper by the arms and carelessly threw him into the middle of the hall.
Seconds later, Gunlaug appeared.
His golden armor reflected the light, and the oppressive pressure surrounding him made the air feel suffocating. Officially, this was a trial. In practice, both Arthur and Sylvie immediately understood that it was a spectacle, a demonstration of power.
With no intention of getting involved yet, they had no choice but to watch as Tessai executed the innocent Sleeper without hesitation.
After that, Arthur lifted his gaze and surveyed the lieutenants. His eyes met Seishan's. She inclined her head slightly and offered him a calm, almost polite smile. Arthur didn't react. He lowered his gaze and continued eating, as if nothing had happened.
The following days passed without major changes. Arthur heard rumors about a supposed creature that had killed Harus. Upon hearing them, a faint smile formed on his lips. He had been the one to kill Harus… and now, knowing who Harus really was, if given the chance, he would do it again without hesitation.
And so the rest of the week passed.
Until, on the final day, Arthur came face to face with Seishan.
It was already quite late, and he was walking alone through the castle corridors. The place was nearly silent when, a few meters ahead, he saw Seishan exiting a room.
Arthur stopped short, observing her with a calculating expression.
Seishan, on the other hand, looked him up and down and formed a faint smile. She stepped a little closer and said,
"You're the one who was in the dining hall the other day."
Arthur didn't respond. His focus sharpened as he prepared to summon a Memory if necessary.
Seishan let out a soft laugh.
"No need to be so defensive. I just want to talk to you privately."
"And why should I listen to you?" Arthur replied.
"Because I'm asking politely, obviously."
A few seconds passed in silence.
"All right," Arthur said at last. "Lead the way."
Seishan nodded and turned around. They walked through the corridors until they stopped in front of a door with a name engraved on it.
Seishan.
Arthur's eyebrows lifted slightly.
"You brought me to your room?"
She didn't respond. She simply opened the door, stepped inside, and left it open for him to follow.
Arthur hesitated for a moment, but eventually entered and closed the door behind him.
When he looked forward again, he saw that Seishan had already summoned a Memory.
"What's that?" he asked.
A few seconds later, once the Memory was fully active, she replied,
"It cancels sound. No one outside this room will hear us."
"And why did you want that?" Arthur asked. Then, raising an eyebrow, he added, "Just so you know, I don't provide any strange services."
Seishan studied him in silence for several seconds. Her expression turned serious, evaluative. Then her tone shifted, becoming almost Machiavellian… and Arthur had to admit there was something dangerously sensual about it as well.
"Oh?" she said. "And what kind of services were you imagining, if I may ask?"
When she finished speaking, Seishan was less than a meter away from Arthur, looking straight at him with a crooked, calculated smile.
Arthur took a step back. He composed himself quickly and replied,
"Well… it's night. You brought me to your private room. You summoned a Memory to cancel sound. The room is lit by candles, and if my sense of smell isn't failing me, there's also a particular scent here… lavender?"
Seishan turned away without responding immediately and walked to a chair in front of a table. She sat down calmly.
"Relax," she said. "If I wanted you for that kind of service, I wouldn't be dressed like this."
Arthur then noticed her clothes: simple black pants and a slightly loose white shirt. Nothing like the red dress he had seen her wearing before.
As she settled into the chair, Seishan added,
"Have a seat. I want to talk to you about something important."
Arthur complied and sat across from her.
"What did you want to talk to me about, Lady Seishan?"
She made a dismissive gesture with her hand.
"No need for formalities. Seishan is fine. You can even call me Shan."
Pouring a red liquid into a goblet, she took a small sip before continuing.
"When I saw you, I couldn't help but feel that my instincts were telling me you're someone special. And my instincts are rarely wrong."
She looked at him intently.
"And besides… don't you find it a little too coincidental that this happens right when rumors start spreading that Harus was killed?"
Arthur held her gaze.
"The rumors say it was a Nightmare Creature."
She took another sip.
"And what do you think?"
"I don't see how my opinion matters."
Seishan smiled.
"Oh, but I wasn't finished."
She set the goblet down on the table.
"Doesn't it strike you as strange that Harus dies on the same day two new Sleepers arrive together at the outer settlement? That it was known Harus had been sent to kill Changing Star's cohort… and yet he ends up dead? That those same Sleepers become hunters and, in just one week, get used to hunting Fallen Beasts as if it were normal?"
Arthur remained silent.
"And that those same Sleepers," she continued, "enter the castle a week later, asking questions of the residents."
That caught him completely off guard.
Arthur stayed quiet longer than he would have liked. Just as he was about to respond, Seishan spoke again.
"And let's not even mention your scent."
She studied him closely.
"You smell the same as those from Valor. If I were less intelligent, I'd think you were Anvil's son… but you look nothing like him. And I doubt he had a secret child."
Now Arthur truly didn't know how to react.
'How does she know I have the War God's lineage?' he thought.
Arthur exhaled slowly.
"May I ask for a glass of water?"
Seishan observed him for a moment, weighing him, then nodded. She rose from her chair, walked to a small cabinet, and returned with a glass, placing it in front of him.
Arthur took it, drank a little, and set it down on the table.
'There's no point in hiding it anymore.'
In a calm, almost indifferent tone, he spoke.
"You're right. It would be too much of a coincidence for all of that to happen."
He raised his gaze to meet hers.
"Yes. I'm the one who killed Harus. And I also have the War God's lineage. I can assume you have a god's lineage as well?"
Seishan showed no surprise. She simply inclined her head in a slow nod.
"I thought so."
Then she added,
"Yes. I have one as well. The Beast God's lineage. I'm from the Song clan."
That was a true revelation for Arthur.
Not because he hadn't suspected it but because now he had confirmation.
Arthur had known for a long time that the great clans had a direct connection to the gods. Growing up with parents who worked for the government and spending countless hours reading ancient books had only reinforced that idea. What he had never known for certain was which great clan possessed which lineage.
Now, the pieces were beginning to fall into place.
If Seishan had the Beast God's lineage, then Song was its bearer.
If she had recognized the scent of Valor on him, then Valor must carry the War God's lineage.
Arthur had already deduced some time ago that the House of Night likely bore the Storm God's lineage, and that Immortal Flame carried the Sun God's. That was, after all, one of the reasons he had always been extremely careful around Nephis. As the last daughter of her clan… it was almost certain she possessed that lineage.
Only two unknowns remained.
The Heart God.
The Shadow God.
For a moment, Arthur thought of Sunny.
At first, it had been a shallow, almost absurd suspicion, born solely from his shadow-related Aspect. But now… with everything he knew about him, with what Cassie had told him, with how Sunny always seemed to be a mystery… in the end, the Shadow God was the god of mysteries as well.
'The chances aren't as low as I thought.'
The conversation continued for nearly an hour.
They spoke of power.
Of Gunlaug.
Of Tessai.
Of the balance within the castle.
And finally, they reached an agreement.
Seishan would help him kill Tessai and Gunlaug, and rule the castle.
In return, Arthur would owe her a favor… once they escaped the Forgotten Shore.
Arthur agreed.
***
The world snapped back into place.
The plaza.
The clash of steel.
Harsh breathing.
Kai was the first to break the silence.
"Wow… that's intense."
Arthur didn't answer. He hadn't told them everything. Only what was necessary. Nothing about lineages. Nothing truly dangerous about Seishan. Just enough for them to understand the weight—without knowing the edge.
Effie, on the other hand, didn't waste a second.
With a huge, almost mischievous smile, she turned toward Seishan.
"Oh, dear Seishan… you had this handsome guy all to yourself in your room and didn't do anything?"
She stepped a little closer, tilting her head.
"Or do you maybe like girls instead?"
Seishan's eyes widened.
For a brief second, the temperature seemed to drop.
"Don't you dare repeat that," she said in a sharp, serious tone. "And no. I'm heterosexual."
Effie let out an exaggerated sigh.
"Oh… what a shame."
Then, as if nothing had happened, she turned her attention back to the fight still unfolding in the center of the plaza.
Sunny and Nephis had already defeated Caster.
Only Gemma remained.
Two against one, and even so, Gemma wasn't making it easy for them.
Taking advantage of the brief silence, Kai spoke again, this time with genuine caution.
"And… what was the plan? If you don't mind telling us."
Arthur looked at Seishan.
She shrugged, her expression clear: I don't mind.
Arthur nodded.
And the past revealed itself once more.
***
The plan hadn't been complete from the start. It had been built piece by piece.
First, Seishan focused solely on Kido. She was tired. Tired of being trapped, of following orders blindly, of serving Gunlaug without questioning anything. It wasn't a direct conversation or an explicit proposal. It was days of subtle suggestions, offhand comments, carefully placed questions. Seishan didn't push her, she simply gave her space to reach the conclusion on her own.
In the end, Kido agreed.
The next step was Gemma.
And that part wasn't done by Seishan.
It was done by Kido.
Gemma had never truly wanted to be one of Gunlaug's lieutenants. He had accepted the position solely because Kido had asked him to. His loyalty had never been to the king of the castle, but to her. When Kido spoke, Gemma didn't hesitate to align herself.
With the three lieutenants on the same side, only one thing was left.
Delivering the first blow.
And that blow depended entirely on Arthur.
While Seishan worked on Kido—and Kido on Gemma—Arthur stayed out of the castle. He spent that time in the Dark City, hunting with Sylvie, growing stronger, accumulating fragments. By the end of the week, he was roughly six hundred fragments away from forming his third core. He knew that facing Tessai would be enough to complete it.
And that was exactly what happened.
The day another public display of "justice" was announced, Arthur didn't stay and watch.
This time, he intervened.
The dining hall was silent.
Gunlaug had just finished his speech about justice, about the order that held the castle together. His words still hung in the air when two hunters dragged a Sleeper to the center of the hall and forced him to his knees. The crime had been reported within the castle itself.
A theft.
That alone was enough for the "trial" to fall under Tessai's authority.
When Tessai took his first step toward the center of the dining hall, something changed.
Arthur moved as well.
He didn't rush. He walked calmly, but the moment he took his second step, all the rage he had accumulated over the week was released without restraint. His killing intent erupted like an invisible tide.
Some Sleepers in the hall began to tremble. It wasn't the crushing, oppressive fear that Gunlaug radiated.
This was different.
Raw.
Primal.
As if reality itself were choking them.
Instinctively, people stepped aside. A path opened toward the center of the hall.
Arthur stopped beside the kneeling Sleeper and spoke in a completely flat voice, devoid of emotion.
"I will take the place of my fellow Sleeper in the pursuit of justice."
For a moment, no one reacted.
Then Tessai let out a short, derisive laugh.
"I don't know where you crawled out from, boy, but that's not how this works. He's the one who requested the right to challenge."
Arthur turned his head slightly and looked at the Sleeper beside him.
"Do you mind if I take your place?"
The Sleeper stared at him with wide eyes, swallowed, and shook his head without saying a word. He stood up awkwardly and stumbled backward several steps, as if staying close was dangerous.
Arthur turned back to Tessai.
"Then it's settled," he said in the same neutral tone.
"Unless you're afraid."
Tessai's lips twisted into a crooked smile.
"Arrogant bastard."
In the same instant, Tessai lunged forward.
Two axes appeared in his hands, carving brutal arcs through the air as he charged. Each step made the floor of the dining hall tremble.
Arthur didn't move.
Dawn's Ballad was already in his hand, ready. His new armor—earned from slaying a Fallen Beast—covered his entire body: overlapping black plates like scales, fitted with precision, thin golden details running along his arms and legs. The material was strange, almost organic, absorbing light instead of reflecting it.
Arthur waited.
Calm.
The air in the hall grew heavier as Tessai activated his Aspect. A wave of cold burst outward from his body, the temperature dropping sharply. Tiny snowflakes began to dance in the beams of light from above, and his skin took on a bluish hue as an invisible icy barrier formed around it, hardening it like stone.
The Sleepers retreated instinctively.
Arthur did not.
Tessai charged with both axes raised high. The first strike descended with crushing force, enough to shatter bone and steel alike. Arthur dodged by the smallest margin, moving just before the impact.
Not by reflex. By anticipation. His aether sense had warned him before the attack even happened.
Arthur countered with a horizontal slash, testing. Dawn's Ballad struck Tessai's hardened skin and was deflected with a metallic sound. No wound was left behind.
Arthur frowned slightly.
Full hardening. High resistance. Not just surface ice.
Tessai grinned arrogantly and pressed the attack. The air grew colder still. Each time an axe passed near Arthur, he felt his muscles stiffen slightly, as if the cold were trying to seep into his body and slow him from within.
Progressive debilitation.
Arthur stepped back once. Then again. Not out of necessity, but analysis.
Wide, brutal attacks. Designed to force mistakes. Tessai relied on endurance and gradual attrition.
Direct style. Area control. Dependence on cold.
Arthur shifted his stance.
Lower.
He abandoned frontal offense and began circling, closing the distance only when needed. Tessai struck again and Arthur activated Static Void for a fraction of a second.
It wasn't visible.
The world simply… froze.
Tessai's axe stopped just short of where it should have been, a microsecond out of sync. That was enough. Arthur slipped past easily and struck the elbow joint. The barrier held, but the force transferred into the arm.
Tessai growled.
Static Void vanished instantly. Arthur couldn't maintain it without paying a heavy price, but he didn't need to. He only needed interruptions.
The next exchanges became a one-sided dance.
Tessai attacked with increasing fury, freezing the floor, trying to limit Arthur's movement. But every time a blow was about to land, time stalled just enough. Perfectly measured micro-activations of Static Void turned lethal strikes into clumsy swings.
Arthur considered freezing Tessai completely—but the brute force of his opponent and the advantage of his Aspect would require far more will imposed on time, draining fragments at an unsustainable rate. Even knowing he would gain more after killing him, Arthur refused to waste them.
He advanced.
Switching styles again, he became aggressive. Short cuts. Fast thrusts. Targeting areas where the icy barrier formed more slowly: the neck, the armpits, the inner thighs.
Tessai began to make mistakes.
His breathing grew uneven. The cold no longer slowed Arthur; his rhythm hadn't broken. Tessai's had.
Another use of Static Void.
This time, Arthur held it a fraction longer, aided by Tessai's fatigue. Tessai felt his body grow heavy, as if invisible hands seized his limbs. Arthur appeared in front of him and drove Dawn's Ballad into his abdomen. The blade pierced through hardened flesh.
Tessai screamed and stumbled back, blood staining the frozen floor.
He tried to raise his axes again, but Arthur was already behind him. Strengthening both his body and Dawn's Ballad with aether—something he could now maintain simultaneously thanks to his two cores—Arthur sliced through the backs of Tessai's thighs, severing the tendons.
Tessai collapsed to his knees and the cold began to fade.
Arthur approached calmly.
With a sharp motion, he plunged Dawn's Ballad straight into Tessai's heart. The blade went through without resistance. Arthur twisted it once, deliberately, knowing the Aspect would keep Tessai alive for a few seconds longer.
As Tessai's body began to slump forward, Arthur activated Static Void one last time.
Time froze.
Stepping beside him, Arthur brought Dawn's Ballad down in a clean arc and severed Tessai's head with surgical precision. The head separated from the body before time resumed.
Static Void deactivated.
The lifeless body hit the floor with a dull thud.
[You have slain Dreamer Tessai]
[Your aether grows stronger]
Arthur stood still for a second, then the Spell spoke again.
[Your aether is overflowing with power]
[Your aether is taking shape]
[Your aether is complete]
Pain surged as a new core formed.
Arthur dropped to his knees beside Tessai's corpse, forcing himself to look as though he were paying respects. Outwardly, that's what it seemed. Inwardly, he was enduring unbearable agony.
Seconds passed like that, until Seishan, Gemma, and Kido began to clap. One by one, the rest of the Sleepers in the dining hall followed.
When the pain finally subsided, Arthur stood and saw that Gunlaug wasn't clapping.
Gunlaug released his presence, and the hall went silent. Even the lieutenants stopped. Then, smiling, Gunlaug began to applaud.
"Bravo, bravo! What a spectacle of justice we've witnessed today!"
He stopped clapping and leaned forward on his golden throne.
"Tell me your name, boy."
"Arthur," he replied calmly.
Gunlaug leaned in.
"Tell me, Arthur… would you be interested in becoming one of my lieutenants? It seems I have a vacancy."
At that moment, a noise from the plaza drew everyone's attention.
Turning, they saw Gemma kneeling on the ground, Nephis standing before him with her sword at Gemma's throat, and Sunny behind him, the tip of his tachi resting where his heart would be.
The fight was over. Sunny and Nephis had won.
And now, they would face the winners between Effie and Kai versus Arthur and Seishan.
Seishan stepped forward, rolling her shoulders.
"Well," she said, glancing sideways at Arthur,
"Looks like it's our turn."
Arthur smiled faintly.
Across from them, Kai and Effie prepared themselves and stepped toward the center of the plaza.
The next sparring match was about to begin