What Feeds Fear

Kallen

Kallen awoke feeling groggy and utterly spent. His head was killing him, especially when he tried to raise from his spot on the ground. Or… coral. He was laying down on a jagged protrusion of coral… the same type that had been strewn across the labyrinth of the Forgotten Shore.

Right. I'm on the forgotten shore. 

He shot upright, a wave of pain crashing through him. Frantically, he searched for his charming companion, Kai, finding him only a few paces away, roughly carving through the carcass of a crab-looking monstrosity. A Carapace Scavenger.

"Morning," Kai said, looking up and smiling. There was a line of raw meat strewn across the ground, and the man himself looked tired and more than a little out of it. "You've been sleeping for a while. More than a few days I think."

Kallen blinked a few times. He opened his mouth, feeling just how parched he actually was.

"I tried to give you water yesterday." The man chuckled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "You woke up in a coughing fit, but I think you were able to get it down. Not sure if you remember it, though."

Kallen shook his head, mumbling that he did not remember. He reached for the canteen that Lyss had given him, but it was missing.

Right. I lost it fighting the dragon… I think.

Groaning, he rested his elbows behind him, watching his rumbling stomach rise and fall with every breath. He met Kai's eyes. "Thank you. You're… you should have left me and run—flown away. But thank you, I appreciate all that you've done."

The idol turned away, blushing. "Ah… it was nothing. I'm sure you would have done the same Hunter Kallen."

"Just Kallen." He paused "No honorifics. You saved my life man. Besides, I won't be a Hunter for very much longer anyways."

"Because you want to kill the Bright Lord?"

"I'll get to that in a minute." Kallen coughed, his chest heaving with pain. Blood spilled onto the coral, seemingly being drank by the stuff. He groaned, then forced out, "What happened… I don't really remember much after you dove in there and grabbed me."

Kai turned back around with a quizzical look. "Really?" 

Kallen nodded. "Blank slate for now."

"Well… hmm, I grabbed you and we flew southwest like you told me to, but the dragon was too fast." Kai lingered, then, "You told me to drop you if we wanted to live, so I did… and then you summoned this trident and blasted the TItan with some divine lightning."

Oh. Yeah, I guess that does sound like something I would do. I guess I remember the trident not letting me use it unless I was facing an opponent down instead of running. 

"So I told you to drop me to satisfy the [Unworthy] enchantment," Kallen mumbled, staring off into the distance with a blank look. "A pretty smart solution all things considered. But I'm lucky I had a flyer with me or it wouldn't have worked… regardless, what happened after that?"

Kai stared at him for a note, gears turning in his head as he tried to piece together what Kallen had said through all the mumbling. Finally, he shook his head. "The dragon fell into the sea and I caught you. It tried to come after us again, but the electricity had it stunned, and I think something attacked it from the depths as well."

"Hm."

"And then I landed here. I hunted when the sea retreated and killed a few of those crab beasts. I'm a pretty good archer, and I can fly so it wasn't terribly difficult. The only problem, is I don't happen to have anything to start a fire—do you have a Memory that could help with that?"

Kallen nodded, looking grim. "I have a sword that can… but I can't summon it right now. I tried earlier and it wouldn't let me. Though I'm not too sure, I think its because of essence exhaustion."

"I thought Sleepers didn't have essence," Kai said.

Shaking his head, Kallen shifted where he sat, grimacing through the pain. "Sleepers have essence, they just can't control it. Dormant abilities use essence, but it is so miniscule that they practically don't use any to activate them. Memory enchantments are different… I think that trident of mine consumes my essence against my will." He paused for a moment. "I actually think I have another ability that does that as well… but it doesn't matter."

Kai tilted his head. "So you ran out of essence and passed out? And that's why you cannot summon your sword for the time being?"

"My understanding leads me to believe that is what is happening. Yes."

"So then we have nothing to cook this meat with?"

"I'm sure we could come up with something," Kallen said. "But as for your earlier question about me not being a Hunter for very long… you know that Gunlaug wants me dead, right?"

Kai nodded.

"And that I want him dead as well."

"Ah, I am aware of this, yes."

"Well," Kallen said. "After we both recover, you go gather Nephis, Sunny, and the others, we'll find the body of the first lord of the Bright Castle, return, and I'm killing Gunlaug."

Kai frowned. "Okay, yeah. I think I've got the gist of it… but why go after the first Lord's body first?"

"Because we need it if we're going to get out of this hell, of course."

"But what about the dragon? An Awakened Titan is smart enough to remember you and seek out revenge. Won't it just come after us again?"

"Yeah, it probably will." Kallen sighed deeply, scanning their surroundings. "But that's why I'm getting that serpent Gunlaug's armor first. With that, my sister's echo, and my trident… I think I stand something of a chance."

Kai stared at him blankly. "You're not lying. Why aren't you lying that's—that's crazy! How are you going to get it off of him!?"

"I'm going to ask him to give it to me. Obviously."

Again, Kai stared wordlessly. 

Eventually… "You're really telling the truth," he said, shaking his head. "You're an insane person."

~~~

Sunny

Seren stood and left the room at Nephis's request. In truth, it was more so Cassie's idea, but Seren seemed to revere the Immortal Flame heir. She saw Neph like some untouchable angel who could do no wrong; She listened to her better than her own brother

Speaking of her brother….

Once Seren had gone off on a walk with Effie, Cassie began. She, Nephis, Caster, and Sunny remained.

"You said you had something to discuss," Nephis prompted. "Something about Kallen? Or else you wouldn't have requested Seren's absence."

Cassie nodded, waiting until she was sure Seren was well out of earshot. When the silence settled and all eyes were on her, she spoke. "I'm worried about his plan to defeat Gunlaug."

Sunny looked around the room, gauging the reactions of those around them. Cassie had expressed her reluctance for seeking out Kallen in the first place, but she hadn't pushed back either. Perhaps she found the good outweighed the bad with having him around. Or perhaps she didn't want to deprive Seren of her most trusted anchor in this hell.

He wasn't sure. He suspected a bit of both. 

Sure, Kallen had attacked them at the spider nest, but he had not been himself. Cassie hadn't even foreseen the event—or hadn't told them, which meant it was inconsequential.

In fact, all it had really done was give the man a weird sort of loyalty to their cohort for saving him and rescuing his sister.

What Cassie had seen probably went much deeper than that simple interaction.

"Are you worried that he'll fail to defeat Gunlaug?" Nephis asked. "I have my reservations as well, but worst case he fails and we proceed with my plan."

Cassie shook her head. She tried to meet Nephis's gaze, following the sound of her voice, but she was a little off. Her eyes landed just a little to the left. "I'm not worried about him failing." She shifted uncomfortably. "I'm worried about him succeeding. I'm almost certain he will beat Gunlaug. And I think he'll take the title of Bright Lord for himself."

Sunny blinked. Wait. That's the problem? I mean… sure he's a Legacy, and a little arrogant, and lofty, and dramatic, or whatever. But he's not that bad. Definitely not worse than Gunlaug, and he doesn't have that same… energy as Caster, that's for certain.

Nephis tilted her head, unreadable as ever. "I don't think he'd be a poor choice. There will be unrest, of course, but that was always inevitable. Whether it's him or me. With my support, Sunny's abilities, as well as Caster, Effie, and your foresight, I don't see why things wouldn't work out." She paused. "Have you had a vision?"

Cassie nodded. "I have… and no, it's not the fallout that frightens me. I actually think the transition will be clean. Or clean enough. It's what comes after… the part my aspect can't properly pin down."

She lingered for a few seconds. Her eyes were fixed on something distant, something only she could foresee. 

"Gunlaug is a tyrant, but he's a known quantity. His cruelty has a shape, a rhythm. He strikes as expected and destroys as foretold."

Her voice trembled.

"But Kallen… he's a good person. At least, I thinks that he is. He has someone he loves enough to set the world on fire to protect. That kind of devotion, that kind of desperation is unpredictable, and that's what scares me."

The room fell silent. Sunny shifted in his seat. "What… what do you…" he stopped himself, unsure of how to continue.

Nephis picked up where he left off. "You think Seren's presence here makes him dangerous?"

"I believe his fear of her being on the Forgotten Shore does," Cassie said. "He has someone here whom he loves. Gunlaug does not. Love feeds fear far more than hate ever could. Hate is loud and violent, but fear is quiet and it waits. And it spreads. And it changes people before they notice they've changed… fear makes monsters out of good men."

Sunny noticed Caster's face. The man seemed to disagree with this sentiment, but didn't voice it.

Cassie took a breath, steadying her trembling voice. "Like I have said, Gunlaug is awful, and would do anything to keep his rule afloat. He stops us from getting off of the Forgotten Shore, and that is why he needs to go. But I fear Kallen as a replacement. He would give everything he has for his sister until there's nothing left of him—until there's nothing left of us. Because if anything threatens her safety… even us…"

She trailed off. The implication hung in the air.

"You've seen this Cassie?" Nephis asked. "You're sure of it?"

She shook her head. "No, I am not sure. I saw it as a possibility. One of a few likely paths…"

"You think he'd turn on us?" Sunny added. "If our goals were to somehow misaligned with his own."

"I think that he would be just as afraid of challenging the Crimson Spire as Gunlaug is." She looked around, failing to meet anyone's eyes due to her flaw. "Think about it. You've seen how protective he is over her… you wouldn't even need prophecy to figure out that he would push back against the idea once it became real."

Sunny thought about what she said. Kallen was the pragmatic sort. He was prone to outbursts of anger, but he was also the type to think ahead, to plan, and try to control the situation. He was smart. 

It made sense for him to avoid challenging the Spire since no one had ever succeeded before. He would want to build up strength or wait for someone else to swoop in and save them. He wouldn't risk Seren's life in a suicide charge against the Spire.

Had he been planning this?

A shudder tore through Sunny. How much of Kallen had been a ruse? A facade? Was he playing them so he could take over? So that they would put a more powerful man on the throne of the Bright Castle?

He must have known Nephis would end up challenging Gunlaug, so he decided it was best to do it himself. 

If Kallen ended up with that armor…

That must be what she foresaw?

But truthfully, Sunny also had his reservations about a suicide charge on the Spire. It was not something he desired… he and Nephis had argued about it for about a month now, neither making any progress either way. 

The reality was, it was necessary. But that didn't mean he had to like it.

"Your worries make sense Cassie," Nephis said, standing from where she sat, stretching as though she was getting ready for one of their hunts. "But you needn't worry about him standing against us. I have reason to believe he would want out of here as fast as possible." A faint smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "It is not my secret to tell, but it involves Seren herself. She needs me to awaken as fast as possible, and I intend to inform her brother as to why."