Chapter 16 : The First Lord

Third POV:

The cohort walked on the bridge, leaving the dark maze behind. Soon, they could feel the mist surrounding them grow thinner.

And at some point, it was gone.

They crossed the river without any trouble and returned to solid ground again.

Making several more steps, The cohort stopped and finally allowed themselves to tremble. Then, Caster opened his mouth and said in a hoarse voice:

"Are we through?"

Although Cassie had not said anything about the need to remain quiet, each of them subconsciously avoided speaking ever since entering the mist.

Only Sunny was speaking bizarrely every now and then.

Because of that, the sound of his own voice startled Caster.

A few moments later, Cassie answered in a hesitant tone:

"I... I think so?"

A few moments later Sunny's voice confirmed it

"We should be through."

Without wasting any more time, Sunny untied the cloth that covered his eyes and removed the wax from them. Then, he carefully opened them and looked around.

They were standing on a stone shore inside a vast cave, through which the underground river was flowing unobstructed. Some distance away from them, the wall of the cave came down, with the mouth of a wide tunnel visible in it.

By his side, other members of the cohort were removing the strips of cloth. Sunny could hear the sighs of relief coming from them.

However, his attention was instantly drawn to Nephis, who had already opened her calm grey eyes and was looking at something behind him.

Turning around, Sunny followed her gaze...

Just a few meters away from them, on the shore of the dark river, he saw a familiar human skeleton. It was sitting on the cold stones, its back straight, facing the water.

Unlike the ferocious undead from the catacombs of the Dark City, this one was tranquil and untouched by the corruption of the Forgotten Shore.

...This was the place where the First Lord of the Bright Castle had died.

The young man whom the members of the cohort only knew by his title had died on the shores of the cold underground river, just a few meters away from the bridge that he had used to escape the terrible place which, according to Cassie, no living being should have been able to escape.

Somehow, he had survived even without knowing that anyone entering the mist had to keep their eyes closed at all times. But in the end, the wounds he had received there — or somewhere up ahead — turned out to be too grievous.

Before the last vestiges of life abandoned him, the young man — the First Lord who had wrestled the Bright Castle from the Nightmare Creatures, created a safe place for the humans sent to the Forgotten Shore to live and led an expedition to find a way out of this cursed place — sat down and looked in the direction of the misty, dark maze.

…The place where his friends and companions had died, leaving him alone in the darkness of this forsaken underworld.

Looking at the skeleton that sat quietly on the shore of the river, Sunny couldn't help but feel a deep feeling of awe… and sorrow.

He had never met this young man, but somehow, it felt as though they knew each other very well.

Everything that humans had on the Forgotten Shore was thanks to his bravery, power, and skill.

…What a shame that he had died here, in this lonesome place, with no one to share his last moments and tell the tale of his last deeds.

The skeleton was strangely well-preserved. It was sitting with its legs crossed, back straight, its hands resting on the hips as if meditating. The skull of the First Lord gazed at the river with the dark chams of its empty eyes, strangely calm and at peace.

What Sunny noticed, though, was not the whiteness of the bone nor the eternal grin of the bare skull, but a thin strip of light metal resting on it like a humble crown.

There was a single bright gemstone on the metal band, placed right above the middle of the skull's forehead.

After the six of them gathered around the remains of the First Lord and stood there for a while in silence to express their respect for this extraordinary human, Nephis sighed and approached the skeleton.

Gently, she took the strip of metal and removed it from the First Lord's head.

…A moment later, the band suddenly broke into countless sparks of light, which then disappeared, absorbed into her soul core.

Finally, they had acquired the Dawn Shard.

As the last spark of light disappeared, Nephis tilted her head to the side and remained silent for a few moments. Then, she lowered her gaze and said, addressing the First Lord:

"Thank you."

She hesitated, as though wishing to say more, but eventually just took a step back.

Kai, however, wasn't that reserved. Bowing deeply, he remained with his head down for a while, then straightened his back, looked at the skeleton, and voiced something that a few of them must have been thinking:

"Thank you. We will… we will finish what you started."

His words echoed above the cold water, eventually disappearing into the darkness. A heavy silence settled above the shore of the underground river.

A few seconds later, the charming archer turned to the rest of them and asked with uncertainty:

"I think… should we bury him?"

The members of the cohort looked at each other. Before anyone could voice their opinion, though, Sunny suddenly spoke:

"No. Just leave him as he is. He wanted to be closer to his friends when he died, so… just don't touch him."

With that, he turned his head and looked away.

Since the First Lord died outside of the terrible maze, his shadow was gone, too. Now it was just dumb and empty, like most shadows cast by inanimate objects. He had not shared in the harrowing fate of his companions, which meant that Sunny couldn't help him reunite with them… even slightly.

Neither could they bring the remains of the First Lord back outside, to bury him near the girl who had died in the quarry.

It was better to just leave him be.

****

As time passed, The cohort remained around the sitting figure of the First Lord While Sunny and Nephis stood slightly away seemingly discussing something regarding the memory of the first lord.

Kai, who had been listening to their conversation with a fair bit of curiosity, suddenly cleared his throat.

"Uh… I am very sorry to interrupt you guys. But I just wanted to ask — since we have found the remains of the First Lord and came into possession of this Memory you were discussing… does that mean that the expedition is over? Have we actually accomplished our goal? Really?"

That, indeed, would seem to be the case.

However, Sunny knew better.

With a friendly smile, he shook his head.

"No. No, buddy, the goal of this expedition has not been achieved yet."

The charming archer looked at him with surprise:

"But… didn't we get the thing that will help us defeat Gunalugh?"

Nephis was staring at Sunny too, a subtle smile on her lips.

"Yeah, Sunny. What else do we have to do? Do tell."

He grinned.

"Well, it's very simple, really. Yes, you told us that the reason for this adventure of ours was to find the means of overthrowing the Bright Lord, and it certainly was a reason. But it's not the whole reason, is it?"

Cassie turned her head slightly to listen to him and sighed.

Caster's face, meanwhile, had turned grim. Effie didn't seem to care one way or another.

Nephis, on the other hand, just smiled wider.

"What is the whole reason then?"

Sunny gestured at the mouth of the tunnel in front of them.

"To finish what the First Lord had started, of course."

Kai was looking between him and Changing Star, unsure of what was going on.

"Uh… what do you mean? Exactly?"

Sunny shrugged.

"Think about it, Kai. We saw the same map. What were the symbols drawn at the very edge of it, near the place where the First Lord's expedition had disappeared?"

The charming archer frowned.

"That… uh. There were… three of them? A crown, a question mark. And a red cross?"

Sunny smiled.

"Exactly. There were six crosses drawn on the map, each marking one of the headless statues. Two to the east of the Dark City, one to the north, one to the west, and two to the south. We had visited one of the two statues situated to the south already. That's where the Spider Matriarch had weaved her nest."

He turned to Nephis and said, his smile gone:

"So the truth of it all is that the First Lord never really intended to find a way through the Hollow Mountains, isn't it? He wasn't a fool who would do something so misguided. No, he came to this godforsaken place for the same reason that we are here. To find the last statue."

Changing Star was silent for a bit.

When the silence was on the verge of growing uncomfortable, she suddenly said:

"It might not be the last but what you said is correct."

Now it was Sunny's turn to stare at her.

'What does she mean by that?'

Noticing the questioning look on his face. Neph looked at him and didn't answer. Her ivory face was calm and inexorable.

Sunny grinned.

"…Full of secrets, are we?"

A hint of some deep, sharp emotion appeared in her cold grey eyes. A few moments later, she said:

"Weren't you the one who made it clear that you don't want to be a true member of this cohort? You chose to be a hired blade yourself… did you not? Why should I share my secrets with you?"

Sunny remained silent for a bit, then sighed.

"Well… fair enough. I did, and you have no good reason to share anything with me."

Suddenly, Nephis smiled.

"You can change your mind, you know. If you do, I'll naturally tell you everything."

He stared at her for a while, then shook his head.

"No, no need."

Kai stared at her in astonishment.

"But… why? No, wait… what's so important about that statue?"

Nephis looked at Night and sighed.

"This is something that people can only volunteer to do. Anyone who doesn't wish to proceed can stay behind and avoid risking their lives in the battle. In fact, some of us probably should."

She turned to face the tunnel, remained silent for a bit, and then said:

"Yes, somewhere up ahead lies another ancient statue. There will be a powerful creature guarding it. I don't know what that guardian is, exactly, but we have to kill it. Anyone who is willing to fight can join me. Others can stay back and wait for my return."

She glanced at the members of the cohort and added:

"However, if you do join me, you'll have to follow one simple rule. No matter what happens, you mustn't deliver the final blow to the creature… unless you have reached and touched the statue first."

That was the condition of gaining the Shard memory. Sunny already knew what shard was waiting to be acquired by them there.

Dusk Shard.

Which Sunny gave to Effie in the last round.

So, How many champions were still around, anyway? Nephis had not even tried to search for the one tied to the Builder, nor for the one tied to the Priestess.

Actually Sunny knew about those two.

The Sunlight Shard, A flowing white cloak, that Effie received after slaying the champion of the Priestess's Statue, The Lord of The Dead.

The Starlight shard was A graceful war hammer with one side of its head forged in the shape of a narrow beak. It belonged to the walking colossus, the statue of the Builder who had created the walls of the Dark City. It was rumored that the First Lord of Bright Castle chased its statue around the labyrinth for a long time.

The daughter of Song Seishan was in possession of it.

Sunny's eyes found those of Nephis. He stared at her for a few moments.

'Has my intervention in the timeline finally caught up?'

So many questions riddled Sunny's mind. Nephis's previous words were still gnawing at his head.

'What did she mean by that?'

'It might not be the last….'

As if something finally clicked in his mind, Sunny immediately dove into his soul sea.

Standing on the still water, Sunny looked up at the seven black suns that were his cores. Many Stars-like orbs were orbiting his cores as they resembled his Memories. Sunny thought of a specific Memory.

Immediately after, the runes of the Memory came into view.

Memory: [Moon Shard].

Memory Rank: Ascended.

Memory Tier: I.

Memory Type: Weapon.

Memory Description: [When the stars were extinguished and fell, a lonely moon remained in the empty sky. With no sun to shine upon it, the moon grew dim, withered, and died. As the last remnants of moonlight were devoured by darkness, one small shard was forged into this subtle blade.]

Memory Enchantments: [Unseen].

Enchantment Description: [Forged from moonlight, this blade appears in the hand of its wielder without delay.]

In the previous round, Nephis got the Moonlight Shard in the north of the Dark City which belonged to the Slayer statue from the Seven heroes of the Forgotten Shore. On her map, there was a red cross drawn near a symbol resembling a grotesque, misshapen skull.

Which she eventually gave to Sunny in exchange for the Dusk Shard that he had given to Effie.

But now The Moonlight Shard was already in his possession.

Memories like Morgan's Bow, Nimble Catch, and Heavenly Burden which were given to him by humans weren't among the memories that he had to spend his efforts on them to regain.

But they simply remained there, still linked to his soul.

Like this Moon Shard

'There would be a lot of things I would need to explain later on how I got those memories.'

Sunny could feel the headache bubbling up.

'I would deal with it when the time comes.'

He lingered for a bit, then shook his head and said:

"…Well, what are we waiting for? You didn't really expect any of us to stay behind while others fight, right? Let's go and hunt this monster."

But then he froze in his tracks.

Turning around Sunny made his way towards the remains of the First Lord. Sunny Silently stood before the skeleton and stared at him for a while, wearing a heavy expression Sunny slowly knelt down.

Besides the skeletal right hip of the First Lord, There was something that resembled a clumsy hand-made engravings on the cold stone.

It was written in human letters.

"Al…duin"

Alduin.

'So that was your name….I will make sure to remember it.'

With that Sunny stood up and joined the cohort.

Eventually, they arrived at a vast cavern situated somewhere in the depths of the draconian mountains. The cavern was large enough to fit the entire Bright Castle — and the hill it stood upon — inside of it. Witnessing its size, Sunny got an inkling that there was a reason why these mountains were called Hollow.

As his sight pierced the darkness ruling over the vast cavern, Sunny couldn't help but feel a deep sense of awe.

The floor of it was covered by black sand, while its walls glistened like obsidian. In the center of the cavern stood a giant pillar of dark stone. It was surrounded by massive scaffolds, which nevertheless looked tiny and insignificant on its surface.

The silhouette of an unfinished statue was easily discernable, cut from the giant pillar by the unknown sculptor. Its upper torso was almost finished, while the lower half was still encased inside the stone.

It was as though a dark giant was struggling to free himself from the pillar of stone that imprisoned him.

Sunny recognized the details of the unfinished giant's armor. They were similar to the armaments that he himself and the Black Knight guarding the ruined cathedral wore.

Looking up, the head of the giant statue was missing.

All of that only took a fraction of a second.

Then, Sunny wrapped seven shadows around himself and poured essence into his Marble Shell activating the armor state. Almost immediately, a beautiful onyx armor, Mantle of the Underworld came into view, radiating a sense of solemn, and dark menace. Sunny ignored the surprised look of his cohort and shot passed them into the cavern, almost turning into a blur.

The cohort finally eyed the headless Statue and then hastily looked down, trying to notice the guardian of this obsidian cave before the creature noticed them.

…But it was too late.

As soon as the members of the cohort entered the cavern, something aside from Sunny moved in the darkness at the base of the statue and then lunged forward.

On the black sand, a monstrous creature that resembled a cross between a lion and a raven stretched its numerous limbs. Its body was pale as a corpse, while its head and chest were covered with dark feathers. It was massive in size, with muscles rolling like steel cables under the skin.

The creature had two powerful hind legs and six more protruding messily from its wide chest, each ending with a set of deadly claws. But the most terrifying feature it possessed was a long, jagged black beak.

The vile abomination lunged forward, exploding into a whirlwind of hunger, madness, and death.

Only Sunny was able to respond in an equal manner.

Bulldozing forward like a dark knight of death, Sunny Collided with the black beak of the abomination using his shoulder blade.

Using the feather of truth Sunny made himself as heavy as possible at the moment of the collision but The force of the impact still threw both of them back.

Using that moment, Sunny managed to look back and yell at his companions:

"It's a Spire Messenger!"

That was all Sunny had time to yell before the vile abomination lunged forward again as all Hell broke loose.