Shadow Slave

Everyone grew quiet. Even Gemma seemed to be slightly stunned by that proclamation. The only person to not react to it at all was Caster, who had entered the grand hall a bit earlier and was now standing by one of the walls, watching Nephis with a complex expression.

Her full name was shocking to hear for two entirely different, but equally earth-shattering reasons.

Firstly, she had called herself not by a human name, but by a True one. In the entire history of human civilization, only a handful of Awakened had managed to earn a True Name in their First Nightmare. Needless to say, none of them was among the thousand Sleepers currently trapped on the Forgotten Shore.

Even Gunlaug himself did not have one.

But Nephis did.

...And Sunny too, of course, but no one had to know that.

Secondly, she had announced herself to be a Legacy, and not just any Legacy at that, but one from the legendary Immortal Flame clan. A clan that had been responsible for propelling the entire human species forward not once, but twice — first by helping conquer the Second Nightmare, then the Third.

A combination of these facts was enough to set off a metaphorical explosion in the middle of the Dark City. If this was true, then she could be considered to be an almost messianic existence here on the Forgotten Shore.

Suddenly, the calmness with which she dared to challenge a fearsome Pathfinder to a battle to the death did not seem that strange.

The dazed looks in the eyes of all the Sleepers gathered in the grand hall had slowly begun to give place to a subtle, tentative, weak glow.

It was as though a tiny seed of hope was suddenly planted in the dead soil of their lightless, forlorn souls.

Either by accident or on purpose, Nephis chose that exact moment to summon her armor. Numerous sparks of light surrounded her in a whirlpool of soft radiance, and when they were gone, a striking black and white armor had appeared on her graceful body.

Everyone's eyes were immediately glued to the symbol on its breastplate. On it, seven shining stars were intricately engraved into the strange white metal.

"Th—that symbol!"

"It's Starlight Crest!"

"The crest of the Seven!"

Just like Sunny, many of the inhabitants of the Bright Castle were familiar with the symbol of the seven stars. Not only was it carved into the robe of the giant statue standing in front of the impregnable city wall, it was also often depicted in numerous stone carvings decorating the walls of the ancient fortress.

vowed to vanquish the darkness consuming this cursed land… and lead its

cold sweat running

how these fools will react to such theatrics? If they get the wrong idea and start running their mouths about how she is some sort of

did Neph say? Just follow her

There had never been a single

there had been nothing but neglect and disregard in his eyes before, now there was a hint of

leader

say, it's a very impressive name you

behind these words was easy to understand. Gemma was insinuating that

veil from everyone's eyes. Most people quickly lost their wistful expressions, once again looking at

at her with expressions full of hesitant,

of that in any way. She

though she existed slightly apart from the

was led into

***

a sharp jaw. His head was shaved on the sides, with the remaining hair weaved into a short braid. He appeared to be slightly older than the rest of the Sleepers gathered in the grand hall, with the

fighter. Every Pathfinder was nothing less than an elite among elites,

at Nephis and walked forward to the base of the steps leading to the white throne. There, he stopped and bowed, showing his respect to

"I'm here."

stared at him with an irritated, contemptuous expression,

know why I've summoned

The Pathfinder smirked.

me? Good. I was very sad to

the crowd, but no one dared to reveal

of Gemma's mouth turned downward. He remained silent for some time, and then said in

just told me. How about this?

that the fight could begin. Andel frowned

the crowd of spectating Sleepers. By that point, there was a considerable

at the fearsome Pathfinder and Nephis with a mix of tension and anticipation. Some were here just to see a macabre show, waiting with excitement for blood to flow. To them, it didn't matter

punished for his crimes. But even these people seemed to believe that Neph was doomed to die. They just hoped

of

toward Changing Star. In his hand, a vicious, crudely forged falchion suddenly gleamed with polished luster, its edge turning sharper than that of a