Сөргөлдөөн

Sunny was tired of the silence, the emptiness, and the quiet dread. The fear of the unknown had been pressing heavily onto his heart, and for a short moment, he wanted for this burdensome uncertainty to end, no matter how violent and dangerous the resulting confrontation would be.

But then, he had to grit his teeth and remind himself that giving in to anger and frustration was a sure way to die. Without knowing the scale of the threat, he had to remain calm and keep a cool head.

His hand, already outstretched to summon a weapon, hovered in the air for a couple of moments, and then relaxed.

Sunny sent one of his shadows forward, and soon saw human figures emerging from one of the passages, some of them limping, the others carrying stretchers with those of their brethren who were too heavily wounded to walk.

The Lost… they were the remaining guardians of the Night Temple. In front of them, a woman in a black tunic was walking, her red hair dirty and damp with sweat. There was a grim, dark expression on her face.

'So there are survivors, after all…'

There were a dozen or so warriors who could still fight, although they didn't seem to be in the best shape. Several were carrying lanterns and torches, the orange flames pushing the darkness reigning in the great hall back. They were still too far away to notice Sunny and Cassie, but he had no doubt that they would be discovered soon.

'What to do, what to do… wait, or hide?'

A moment later, the decision was made for him.

As Sunny watched, one of the Lost suddenly approached Master Welthe and whispered something to her, then pointed directly at the shadow that was observing them from the darkness.

'Crap…'

Sunny was more or less certain in his ability to contend with one of the Ascended knights, provided of course that Saint and the Serpent were on his side. With the dozen Lost supporting the opponent, though… it was a fight he would have preferred to avoid.

Especially considering that what he needed the most right now was information, which the survivors possessed.

Soon, a lone figure separated from the group of battered sentinels and headed their way with measured, steady steps. As soon as Sunny saw who it was, his face darkened.

Master Pierce… the man was as rugged and severe as he had been when they first met, his steely eyes cold and hard. The stubble on his cheeks had turned into a short beard and his lusterless scale mail was damaged in several places, but other than that, he looked exactly the same. It was as though the weeks of bloody horror had no effect on him at all.

Now, the odds were really not in Sunny's favor.

He was still sure of his ability to at least escape, though. If need be…

Master Pierce approached the central platform and stopped, studying Sunny and Cassie with a heavy gaze. Sunny cleared his throat and faked a shaky smile.

"S, sir Pierce! Thank the gods… we weren't sure that anyone was left alive!"

To his left, Cassie suddenly tensed. Knowing that she must have sensed something happening in the next few seconds, Sunny prepared for the worst. However, noting that the blind girl remained motionless, he didn't do anything rash, as well.

Master Pierce spoke, his voice dark and heavy:

"Well, well. What do we have here…"

In the next moment, a vast whirlwind of white sparks surrounded the platform. Sunny cursed inwardly, and watched as ten human figures appeared from the sparks, surrounding them. In an instant, the number of their potential enemies almost doubled.

These humans, though… he had to suppress a shiver. Their empty eyes, their empty shadows… no, they weren't humans at all. Instead, ten Echoes were staring at him with lifeless expressions, each radiating an eerie, deeply disturbing, and threatening aura.

Pierce stared at them coldly.

"I see that the two of you are still alive."

Sunny looked around, feverishly thinking about how to turn the situation around.

"Oh… about that…"

Before he could say anything, he noticed that Cassie turned her head slightly and glanced somewhere behind him, a small frown appearing on her face. Just like that, he knew that someone was there.

…Which was strange, considering that Sunny was always aware of what was behind his back thanks to the shadows, and couldn't see or sense anything right now.

The blind girl was proven right, though, in the next moment, when something cold touched his neck and a vaguely familiar raspy voice spoke into his ear:

"Don't move."

Sunny froze.

'That voice… the female sentinel that was guarding the gates on the day we arrived? Why can't I see her, or sense her shadow?'

The answer was rather obvious… the woman must have been able to don some form of invisibility thanks to her Aspect.

That was one nasty Ability…

He pretended to tremble.

"Yes, yes! I am not moving!"

For a couple of moments, no one spoke. Then, Cassie turned her face toward the fearsome Master and said:

"Sir Pierce… I would appreciate it if you could give us shelter and explain what is happening. We barely escaped the cage you put us in alive, and being met with such hostility is not how we imagined finding fellow humans again."

He stared at her for a bit, then grinned.

"Give you shelter? That is a good joke. Give me one reason to not kill you both, instead."

Cassie frowned, but did not show any fear. Instead, she remained silent for a few seconds, and then said in a calm and even voice:

"...You can try. You will certainly succeed. But not without paying a cost. Awakened Sunless and I might not be Ascended, but we did not receive our designations for nothing. How many of your men and Echoes will we take to hell with us?"

She paused for a moment, and then added:

"...How many can you spare?"

Master Pierce opened his mouth, wishing to say something, but was cut off by Welthe, who had approached from behind. The second Ascended spoke in a tired voice:

"Enough. We can't spare anyone, or anything. I know this and you do too, Pierce. These two are strong… they will be of use. We will take them with us."

He grimaced, then spat:

"What if that thing is hiding in one of them?"

Lady Welthe glanced at Sunny and Cassie and shook her head:

"They have been locked in the lesser cell for weeks… between all of us, these two are the least likely to have been taken. Besides, we have just destroyed his previous vessel. There are no mirrors in the great hall, so…"

She sighed heavily, then addressed Cassie:

"Come. It is… not safe here. We must return to the inner sanctum as fast as possible."

Pierce gritted his teeth, then snarled and dismissed the Echoes.

At the same time, Sunny felt the cold blade move away from his neck. In the next moment, the familiar sentinel appeared from the thin air beside him, holding a sharp dagger in her hand.

She smiled and winked at him.

"...Lucky you. Well, maybe next time."

With that, the woman headed toward the group of the Lost and beckoned for them to follow.

Sunny briefly glanced at Cassie, sighed, and started walking.

He wasn't too happy about how things had turned out, and knew that their conflict with the forces of Valor was not over. But for now, at least, there seemed to be a shaky truce between them.

Which gave him an opportunity to get some answers…