On the last day they would spend in the Dark City, Nephis led a small group of her most powerful warriors on one last hunt.
The members of her cohort were all following behind her. Sunny, who stubbornly refused to accept his status as one of them, walked apart from the group, idly looking around and observing the ruins.
Gemma and Seishan were also with them, as well as ten or so of the most experienced hunters — some of them formerly from the Host, some formerly from the outer settlement. There was no difference between the two anymore.
All of them were simply Changing Star's people now.
As they were walking, Gemma approached Sunny and glanced at him with curiosity.
After Tessai had fallen to Neph's blade, the tall man seemed to have found some measure of peace. Somewhere deep in his eyes, however, there always was a hint of sorrow.
Sunny stared at him and raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
The hunter smiled slightly and asked in a friendly tone:
"You're Sunless, right?"
Sunny shrugged.
"Yeah, that's me."
Gemma silently measured him and then asked with interest:
"I've heard that you lived for months alone in the city. Is that true?"
'Ah, makes sense.'
The tall man was perhaps the most experienced hunter on the Forgotten Shore. He had survived countless battles on the streets of the cursed city. It was natural for him to be curious about this matter…
Sunny gave him a nod.
"Sure. A little over three months, I guess."
Gemma rubbed his chin, then asked bluntly:
"How did you survive?"
Sunny grinned.
How had he managed that, indeed?
hiding, lots of killing. A modicum of madness, and
stared at him for
about right, I
glanced forward at Changing Star and asked in a
you know what we are going to hunt
looked at him with
"She didn't tell you?"
tall man hesitated, then
did. I'm just not sure that I
smiled and looked
guess. Your first thought was that she had lost her mind. What
moments of silence,
can we kill
'Poor guy…'
lingered for a bit, and
know more
that,
the day, they reached the eastern edges of the city and climbed the imposing monolith of the great wall. Standing on top of it, they saw the colossal crater and the headless statue that stood not too
prey was hiding in a vast underground chamber
going to hunt the
***
the statue, the second arm of the Priestess lay in the mud. Thousands of years ago, it had broken off and fell, crashing through the dome
rest had used that breach to escape from the catacombs. Now, they were going to use
Sunny wasn't really surprised that Nephis had chosen to return
how exactly she
in the mud, Changing Star glanced at
your shadow take a look at
into the breach. It slid on the mud and entered the dark hole,
still there, in the middle
it looked very different from how it had been
a human body. They weren't growing just between the ancient remains: the vines were bursting through the bones, too. Almost
of the Dead seemed… weaker. More brittle. As though it
look closer, and finally noticed the thing that he had expected to
the floor of the underground chamber, open and empty. The exact same box Nephis had mysteriously entrusted to Caster as
hunter, that box had appeared on his pillow with a small note. That note had been written by
the leader of the Artisans. Her
as it turned out, was her last creation and final
a moment and then spoke, his words
is heavily infected by Kido's
Star nodded and remained silent for a few moments.
the Dead will attack us. Now that its power is reduced, and with the help of the
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