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?
killing. A modicum of madness, and a little bit
stared at him for a
right, I
Changing Star
you know what we are going to
at him with
"She didn't tell you?"
hesitated, then
did. I'm just not sure that I believe
smiled and looked
that she had lost her
moments of silence, Gemma
can we kill
'Poor guy…'
for a bit, and then
know more
just like that, their
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
in a vast
hunt
***
had broken off and fell, crashing through the dome of the underground chamber. Now, there was a chasm in the ground that
months ago, Sunny and the rest had used that breach to escape from the catacombs. Now, they were going to use it to descend into that darkness,
to return to this place. After all, the mountainous abomination was most likely guarding the last of the seven
about how exactly she was planning
in the mud, Changing Star glanced at
a look at the burial
mud and entered the dark hole,
was still there, in the middle of
different from how it had been
of them comparatively thin, others as thick as a human body. They weren't growing just
of the Dead seemed… weaker. More brittle. As though it was sick, sapped of its
look closer, and finally noticed the thing that he had expected to
box lay on the floor of the underground chamber, open and empty. The exact same box Nephis had mysteriously entrusted to
outer settlement hunter, that box had appeared on his pillow with a small note. That note had been written by Changing Star's spy — Seishan. And the
had been the leader of the Artisans. Her Aspect Ability
as it turned out, was
Nephis, Sunny hesitated for a moment and then spoke,
Kido's vine.
silent for a few
chamber, the Lord of the Dead will attack us. Now that its power is reduced, and with the help of the Dawn
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