Fated Arrival

Nephis was alone once more.

Standing beneath the grand staircase of the Bright Castle, she watched Cassie and Sunny ascend without any particular expression.

It wasn't a goodbye between the three of them, anyway. She was going to see both again in a week.

'I hope they don't get into any trouble.'

She knew, of course, that trouble was bound to occur with Sunny's rampant mouth, even if he spared them of it during their journey. The rumors back at the Awakened Academy were proof enough of that.

She smiled faintly. The three of them had come a long way to get this far. Traversing hundreds of kilometers of land, slaying Awakened Demons, sailing the dark sea, and reaching the pearly gates of the Bright Castle alive.

'And what of this place?'

All their pain, suffering, and trial was for naught. The Bright Castle held no gateway, the Bright Lord was a tyrannical dictator, and the only people on the Forgotten Shore were bound in servitude by him.

Without his aide, people died — either by hunger or abomination — and existed in filth, forced to pay a toll to receive basic human rights.

It seemed hopeless.

But, Nephis was not one to kneel. She was not one to relinquish hope. Despite the unassailable air of Gunlaug's empire, he was merely a Sleeper. A powerful one, sure, but she was the bearer of a Divine Aspect and the holder of a True Name, so who was he to stand in her way?

With a resolute expression she spun back around to the foul encampment. It was more like a doghouse than habitable living space. Still, she kept her expression blank, mind focused on the plans she'd have to make.

'I need to gather information while I'm here. There's no reason to loiter about until Sunny delivers news.'

Yet, what exactly did she need to know?

Several immediate things came to mind.

'Why was the Bright Lord so indomitable? Who were his closest confidants? How did he take control, and why hadn't he gone to search for a gateway if he was so powerful?'

More questions.

''If the previous lords were powerful enough to slay a Spire Messenger, how did they fall? What came after? How long ago did it happen?'

So many questions, and no answers.

'For now.'

Nothing would stop her from getting what she required, and two ideas immediately came to mind.

The first one was debatable.

'Should I visit Effie?' 

She wrote it off after a second of consideration. The voracious woman would be paid a visit later, but spending time listening to slum dwellers — the true source of gossip — appeared more prudent.

She was also reluctant to bother her because the huntress seemed a little bit of a recluse when it came to the other members of the settlement.

So, her attention turned outwards instead, swiftly discovering the spots where people were more than mindless ants enslaved by their own weakness and fear. Real hunters, born and bred through pain, brief as their life may be, were the first she noticed. Others surrounded their area, sparks flickering in their eyes, banded together in bleak conversation that gave them some sort of purpose during the day.

As she found a spot and settled, more than a few compelled gazes turned her way. New arrivals were uncommon, especially this year. In fact, only one had arrived, and that was Caster. Of course, Nephis was unaware of that at the moment.

She spent hours listening, understanding, learning.

Until eventually, she heard something that piqued her curiosity.

A downtrodden Sleeper resting against the wall of her tiny home beside another, calmer companion, said:

"How long do you think Sir Nico will keep bringing back Awakened corpses for us before that snake calls him back, you think?"

The other looked at her and grimaced. The stoic lieutenant was a hot topic nowadays, and despite his daily appearances, more than a few people were poised to distrust him. However, he did consistently give them food. The Sleepers were far better off now than before he arrived.

She answered, skeptical:

"He's been here for three months already. You really think they'll recall him at all?"

The first scoffed, crouching down and grasping a small rock beneath her.

"Won't he? When has Gunlaug ever done anything kind for us? Hell, he even sent one of his own lieutenants out here. Not even to really help, either. All Sir Nico does is laze around, hunt, and work on his own house. Every day without rest. Like a robot."

After a few moments of silence, she continued:

"He basically is, with that Flaw of his."

Nephis flinched. From the sound of it, a lieutenant was an important part of the Bright Lord's regime.

'Does someone like that really allow their Flaw to slip so easily?'

She focused on their conversation more.

The second girl almost scowled. Her cynical friend seemed to have taken a step too far.

"Why would you say something like that? If anything, he's more human than most the members of the castle. He lives down here with us. He drags back his spoils with him every day for us all to share."

She huffed.

"And he's working with Kido as an Artisan. I heard together, they managed to almost double the produce in the castle."

The girl opened her mouth to retort, then sighed, gripping the rock and tossing it across the street. Her eyes dimmed, a sideways glance given to acknowledge her friend.

"Yeah, I guess so."

A beat of silence passed between them.

She spoke again, a grim undertone suffocating her voice into a meek whisper:

"Until he dies. They all do. Always."

Nephis stayed for a while to observe their conversation, hoping for further elaboration on the mysterious figure, but nothing of note was shared between the two after that.

She left unsatisfied.

'Someone who's Flaw is known, lives in the outer settlement, and spends all his time by himself.'

He sounded like the perfect person to question.

'I should be cautious.'

It was also a person to wary of. Someone like that doesn't just exist without strength. Especially not if he hunts Awakened creatures on the daily.

There was also the possibility of him being a spy sent by the Bright Lord.

If she was caught trying to pull strings by the lieutenant, and he relayed that, she had no illusions that she wouldn't become one of innumerable skulls suspended above the gate.

Nephis spent another twenty minutes searching for him. She wandered the populated and empty areas blindly, eyes flickering from house to house without rest.

'They said all he does is build his home, so it must be impressive.'

Yet, no matter where she wandered, nothing stood out of the ordinary. All around her, only the decrepit homes of residing or long-gone Sleepers reached her sight.

Eventually, she walked far enough that she began to near the road where Effie had led them into the settlement.

With a sigh, she resigned to try again later, but then caught sight of something up the path, at the very edge of the slums.

Where the road met the buildings in a shaggy line, a figure was revealed at the center.

And there, sitting cross-legged with his back to her, was a man in tattered clothes, chestnut brown hair flowing behind him like a banner.

She approached, and just as she drew near enough to be heard, he stirred, standing up and dusting his pants with a lazy hand. Then, he turned towards her in one elegant motion, head angled down to meet hers.

Azure eyes gleamed in her vision a moment later, shimmering like twin gems forged from the purest of fresh waters. A sculpted, youthful face with thin lips and defined features revealed itself, looking down on her from a height even Effie couldn't quite match, although not by much. With his back straight, arms at his side, and unblemished, slightly tanned skin, he looked more like a statue than a man.

Yet... everything about him seemed subtly wrong. His eyes were too deep. His face was sculpted, but too statuesque. Even his perfect posture was flat — a painting that lacked spark.

Suddenly, she knew what his Flaw meant.

'Unfeeling.'

That was the first thought she had after she saw him.

"What would you like to know?"

His words broke into her mind. Not a question, but a probe. He could somehow tell what she wanted and made it obvious that there would be no kiting around the subject.

Nephis steeled herself, abandoning her caution as she said:

"I want to learn about the Bright Castle."

He stared at her for a moment, unmoving, unblinking. The wind fluttered his tunic.

"There's a lot to know."

Her eyes sharpened.

"Then there's a lot to tell."