After everything was done and Nephis used her flames to heal those who survived, they returned to the city through the catacombs.
Perhaps she wished to eviscerate the army of undead monsters that were now left without the tyrant to bring them back to life. But in the end, they were met with nothing but silence.
The horde of ferocious skeletons that had once almost cost Sunny and the rest of the cohort their lives was no more. The dark tunnels stretching beneath the ruins were littered with piles of bones, which were slowly turning into dust. It seemed as though the moment the Lord of the Dead had been destroyed, its servants had perished, too.
After a while, the group of humans emerged from the collapsed tower of the lighthouse and continued on its way back to the Bright Castle.
They were going to spend their last night there before leaving the Dark City behind.
***
In a small room in the depths of the ancient citadel, seven people gathered around a table.
They were Sunny, Nephis, Cassie, Caster, Effie, Kai, and Seishan.
Beyond the walls of the castle, the absolute darkness of the night had devoured the world. Nightmare Creatures were prowling the cursed ruins, and somewhere far away, black waves were crashing against the indomitable granite surface of the city wall.
Inside, the cold light of a Memory lantern illuminated their faces.
Strangely, everyone was silent, as though not sure what to say. Finally, Sunny broke the silence by yawning loudly.
"Shall we get on with this? Tomorrow is going to be a long day, and some of us need their beauty sleep."
He threw a sideways glance at Kai, thought for a bit, and then added:
"Actually, every day after today is going to be a long one. So let's just do it."
Nephis stared at him for a few moments, then echoed his words:
"...Do it."
they summoned their
ghostly stiletto appeared in Sunny's
a narrow beak appeared
her beautiful bronze spear and a heavy round
decorated with a single gem
were the Shard
Dusk,
…And Starlight.
around Effie's shoulders. This was the Shard she had received after
no one moved. Then, Effie
"So, uh… what now?"
titled her head a little, then frowned. Finally, after some time passed,
"Come closer."
did, something unexpected happened. Sunny felt the hilts of his weapons suddenly growing hotter, and soon, both Midnight and Moonlight Shard began emanating a ghostly, ethereal
Then, they fused with each other, and soon, seven objects weaved themselves from that light and hovered
were keys forged out of lustrous metal,
was the manifestation of the terrible oath that the seven heroes had given all those thousands
and shot toward each of the seven people gathered
the chest and disappeared,
Spell resounded in his
have received
shivered. He didn't want anything to do with that
he
rest of the people gathered in the
"We're ready."
***
long procession of humans walked through them, leaving the ancient citadel
of
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