Two forces stood against each other, the desecrated expanse of the great hall separating them… for now. The tense silence was full of bloodlust and dark apprehension.
Sunny slowly made his way to the first row of the crowd, staring at the opposing mass of armored warriors with a complicated expression. From his point of view, followers of Changing Star had little chance of winning this battle.
They simply had no advantage against the Castle Guard — with the exception of the fact that there were more bodies they could throw at the sharp blades of the enemy. Even if everyone here was mundane human, that would not have helped them prevail against a better-armed and trained force.
The fact that every single human in the throne room was a Sleeper only made things worse. The potential difference in power between two Awakened was much more vast than that between two mundane fighters.
And yet, he didn't think that Nephis was going to lose — for that same reason.
The Guards might have been better equipped and more experienced than the slum dwellers, but they didn't have Changing Star on their side. They didn't have Effie, Caster, and Gemma. They didn't have Sunny.
They only had two truly fearsome champions: Seishan and Tessai himself.
At the end of the day, the outcome of this battle was going to be decided by those few who stood out from the sea of Sleepers, impressive as everyone still surviving in the Dark City might have been, like tall and unassailable cliffs. Among the Awakened, individual power was so much more important. And in terms of exceptional individuals, the Changing Star's side was far superior.
So yes, Sunny felt confident that Nephis was going to win.
But at what cost?
Out here on the Forgotten Shore, people had nowhere to retreat. So this battle was going to end only after one side was totally annihilated. And the closer to utter annihilation a faction would come, the more desperately its members would fight… like rats driven into a corner. When that happened, the bloodshed would only grow more terrible.
Was it only going to stop when just a handful of the strongest and most resilient were left alive?
As if reading his thoughts, Tessai suddenly chuckled and looked at the crowd of people gathered in the throne room with a bloodthirsty smile.
'Is… is that bastard actually looking forward to the slaughter?'
The morose giant then looked directly at Nephis and grinned:
"Changing Star. Ah, we meet again. But… wait. Who is that beside you? Is that Gemma, my old friend? What a pleasant surprise!
How considerate of you, to bring him here. Now I won't have to search the whole Castle for that filthy cockroach…"
With that, he slowly rose from the throne, put his terrifying mace on his shoulder, and descended from the stairs, dark fires igniting in his eyes.
"Have you come here to die, Changing Star?"
Nephis tilted her head and looked at Tessai with empty eyes.
"...No. I came here to kill you."
The giant laughed. Stepping on the marble floor, he stopped beside Seishan and bared his teeth in a vicious grin.
The two of them looked truly fearsome together. The morose giant was like an incarnation of destruction and violence. His skin had turned slightly blue because of the invisible icy barrier that encased it. The air in the throne room suddenly became colder, with tiny snowflakes dancing in the beams of light.
The mysterious leader of the Handmaidens was reserved and elegant, but no less frightening.
Seishan was exquisitely beautiful, cold, and inexorable. She was wearing a simple, but strangely regal dress, its velvet the color of red wine. There was an intricate silver necklace resting on her chest that accentuated her supple figure, and two bracelets on her wrists.
Her most striking feature, however, was not her grace and not her beauty, but her skin. It was grey like stormy clouds, smooth like silk, and devoid of any imperfections.
Just like Nephis, Seishan was one of those people whose appearance had been changed by their Aspect. But in her case, that change was far more pronounced. It gave her an exotic and tantalizing, but outwardly inhuman look.
Seishan's beauty was of the kind that put both longing and fear in a person's heart.
When Tessai approached, she silently summoned her weapon and stared coldly at the crowd of slum dwellers. Many of them shivered and hurriedly looked away.
A few moments later, a graceful war hammer appeared in her hand, one side of its head forged in the shape of a narrow beak.
The morose giant laughed.
"Kill me? Haven't you tried already? If memory serves, the last time we fought, you ran away like a cowardly dog. What makes you think that today is going to be different, bitch?"
Nephis raised her chin slightly and met his mocking gaze with silence.
Tessai shook his head.
"That look. I dreamed about wiping that arrogant look off your pretty face for a long time. Today, I am going to teach you how to beg, girl. So, what do you say? How about we finish this mess once and for all?"
The Guards standing behind him laughed and readied their weapons, looking at the slum dwellers opposing them with contempt and dark anticipation. Followers of Changing Star gritted their teeth, closing their ranks and preparing to charge.
The bloodshed was about to begin.
Nephis summoned her silver sword and answered Tessai, her voice cold and indifferent:
"...Let's."
For a moment, time slowed.
With a bestial smile, the giant stepped forward. He opened his mouth, ready to give his soldiers the command to attack.
A step behind, Seishan silently moved to follow him…
…And brought the beak of her war hammer on the back of Tessai's head, shattering his skull with one devastating strike.
At the same time, the Handmaidens who were standing behind the Guards attacked the unsuspecting men with long knives that appeared out of their sleeves. These knives were not Memories, and as such, did not take any time to weave themselves into reality or shine with ethereal light while doing so. Instead, they were fashioned out of steel, bone, and black obsidian.
Just a moment later, the blades plunged into the flesh of the Guards, ruthlessly slaughtering them. The Handmaidens were aiming for their throats, hearts, and eyes. Blood streamed on the marble floors once again, and screams of terrified agony filled the air.
By the time Tessai's soldiers realized what was happening, it was already too late. They had no chance to resist the treacherous attack.
A dozen seconds later, everything was over. A hundred powerful fighters were mercilessly eviscerated without even having a chance to raise their weapons. Their corpses lay on the floor, a look of horror and disbelief forever frozen on their faces.
…Only Tessai was still alive.
Despite the fact that his skull was broken, the giant was still struggling to stand up, fury contorting the lines of his face. His disoriented attempts, however, were growing weaker with each second.
A confused, pained roar escaped from his lips.
As hundreds of Sleepers stared in shock and horror, Nephis slowly walked across the great hall and stopped near him.
Seishan, who was standing behind the giant, gave her a respectful bow.
"Lady Changing Star."
Sunny stared at her war hammer, which was wet with blood and bone matter, with splinters of bone sticking to its metal surface. An expression of recognition suddenly appeared on his face.
"The hammer… the mason's hammer…"
Held in Seishan's graceful hand was the sixth Shard Memory. One that belonged to the walking colossus, the statue of the Builder who had created the walls of the Dark City.
The Sunlight Shard.
Nephis gave the beautiful woman a curt nod.
"Good job."
Finally, the identity of the spy who had been helping her from within the Castle was revealed.
Then, she turned to the dying giant and stared at him. Neph's face was still and motionless, with no emotion appearing in her cold grey eyes. After a few moments, she said evenly:
"I promised to kill you."
With that, she raised her sword and pierced Tessai's heart with one swift, precise strike. The giant man shuddered, and then grew still.
Retrieving her sword, Nephis closed her eyes and used it to support her weight for a few moments. A slight tremor ran through her body.
The war for the throne was over.
The Bright Castle had finally found its new Lady.