With the whole of Memory Market suddenly falling into the hands of Changing Star's faction, the skirmishes happening in the halls of the Bright Castle became even more frequent and brutal. People kept killing each other, slowly painting the whole citadel red.
And yet, it was still not enough for a winner to emerge.
Nephis was always on the frontlines, leading her people and slaying countless enemies with her silver blade, as if alien to the very concept of mercy. Wherever she appeared, blood flowed like a river. She had even clashed against Tessai personally, but their fearsome battle ended in a draw.
Now that more than two weeks had passed after Gunlaug's death and the decimation of the previous order, humans were starting to suffer from the lack of food. There were more and more Nightmare Creatures finding their way into the Castle, too. The situation was slowly turning into an irreversible crisis.
In fact, it already had.
The civil war raged on, reaping human lives one after another. But it was also forging those who remained alive into much more fearsome, powerful, and hardened fighters.
And then, suddenly, the status quo was finally decimated, announcing to everyone left alive in the Bright Castle that the end was drawing close.
The new Lord was about to take his crown. And it was not going to be the most noble or formidable of the candidates.
It was going to be the most vicious.
The news arrived in the stronghold of the Changing Star's faction at the darkest hour of the night. The scouts sent into the depths of the Castle returned one after another, bringing with them shocking news.
The Castle Guard had secretly launched an all-out assault on the stronghold held jointly by Gemma and Kido. The Hunters were defeated, losing many of their numbers in the battle. Left without their protection, almost every Artisan had been captured by the Guards, while Kido herself had been killed by Tessai with his own two hands. After her death, Gemma and his surviving warriors had to flee.
After the scouts made their report, a heavy silence settled over the stronghold. Everyone understood what was going to happen next.
The faction formed by the alliance of the Guards and the Handmaidens had already been the most powerful of the three. Now that all the Artisans were in their hands and most of the Castle was under their control…
They would be coming for Changing Star and her people next.
In that silence, Nephis looked around, at the pale faces of her followers, and said after a long and poignant pause:
"...Stay strong. We will prevail."
However, for the first time, her words did not seem to convince them.
After a long and sleepless night, an unexpected visitor arrived in the stronghold.
It was Gemma, the mighty leader of the Hunters.
The tall man looked very different from how he had before. His laidback attitude was gone, replaced with dark exhaustion. His face was grim and ashen, and his light armor was torn and covered with blood.
He wished to speak with Changing Star.
After she arrived in front of him, Gemma offered her the services of his remaining men in the struggle against Tessai.
She tilted her head and asked, her voice emotionless:
"What about your ambitions? Didn't you want to become the next Lord?"
Gemma was silent for a long time, the fire extinguished in his eyes. Finally, he said:
"I never wanted to be a Lord. It was Kido's wish. Now that that damn butcher… now that she's dead, I don't care about the throne anymore."
He paused, a mournful shadow veiling his eyes. But then, embers of scathing hatred ignited in its depths. Gemma gritted his teeth.
"All I care about is to see Tessai die. If you can promise me that you'll defeat him, I and my Hunters will follow you to the end."
Nephis was silent for a while, considering his words. Finally, she turned away and answered:
"Signal for your men to come. We have some food to share, so eat your fill. Prepare for tomorrow."
With that, she walked away.
Gemma stared at her back and yelled:
"What happens tomorrow?!"
Changing Star paused for a moment, then answered without turning her head:
"...Tomorrow, I will kill Tessai."
***
The next day, there were no scouts and no patrols sent out in the morning. Instead, everyone armed themselves, gathered together, and marched to the throne room.
Nephis was walking at the head of her army, clad in the stark black and white armor of the Starlight Legion.
On her breastplate, seven shining stars were engraved.
The great hall was just as they had left it three weeks ago. During that time, members of all three factions had gathered the bodies of their dead to give them proper burials, but the white marble floor was still painted red with blood.
Tessai and his people were already waiting for them there.
The morose giant was sitting on the throne, looking down from its height. In his hands, there was a terrifying heavy mace, still wet from the slaughter.
Sunny grimaced, noticing the difference between the two armies.
Despite all their losses, there were still almost a hundred Guards left alive. Not only were they better equipped and trained than the slum dwellers, but now they also had the captured Artisans on their side, supplying them with all kinds of tools, gear, and deadly inventions.
The Artisans themselves were beside them, some of them bound and chained, some simply intimidated into submission. Their faces were pale, frightened, and bloodied. From their position in front of the Guards, it seemed as though Tessai was planning to use these poor people as a meat shield against Changing Star's assault.
The Handmaidens were also there, standing silently behind the guards. These quiet young women used to maintain the Castle and complete various chores around it, but they were capable fighters as well. Since they had not participated in the furious battle that had happened after Gunlaug's death, their number did not diminish by much. There were around a hundred of them, too.
Their leader, Seishan, was also there, at the base of the stairs that led to the throne. Looking at her, Sunny felt a cold shiver run down his spine.
He couldn't explain it, but this beautiful and strange woman made him feel fear for some reason.
At a first glance, Nephis had more people on her side. There were slightly more than three hundred of them, comprised mostly of the surviving slum dwellers, with several dozen tributaries and a dozen or so Hunters added into the mix.
…But really, only about a half of them was worth anything in the fight against the battle-hardened Guards.
Altogether, these were all the humans left alive in the Dark City. Just shy of six hundred.
Everyone else was already dead.
And how many more were going to die today?