Sunny took a deep breath and swung the Azura Blade. Making sure every muscle of his body moved properly.
'Nine hundred ninety-nine'
A sweat drop fell from his head as he swung his sword, cutting the air.
'One thousand. Phew that took a while.'
Smiling, he returned the Azura Blade to his soul; after each swing with his sword, he felt himself getting better. Well, not by much, but he is getting better with the sword, or he is deluding himself.
From behind he heard Nephis calling for him. It seems Cassie is ready to speak about her dream.
With pretty much every muscle in his body sore, Sunny walked over to the girls and fell on the ground. After catching his breath, he looked at Cassia.
After asking about her well-being and Nephis giving her water.
"Everything seems to be fine now. Uh… did you dream of another vision? You can tell us. If you want."
Cassie hesitated for a bit before saying:
"I… don't know. Maybe it was just a nightmare."
Sunny and Nephis exchanged glances. They both doubted that what Cassie saw was a simple nightmare. After all, people usually did not dream in the Dream Realm. The blind girl, meanwhile, continued:
"I don't really remember. It's all in fragments."
Sunny carefully considered his words, not wanting to pressure Cassie too much.
"You can just tell us what you remember. Maybe we'll be able to make sense of it together."
Cassia sighed and tentatively nodded. After a long pause, she finally found the courage to speak:
"At first, I saw a… a boundless darkness locked behind seven seals. Something vast was churning in the darkness. I felt like if I directly saw it, I would lose my mind. As I watched, terrified, the seals broke one after another, until only one remained. And then that seal broke, too."
She trembled a little.
"After that… I don't know. It was as though my mind shattered into a thousand shards, each shard reflecting its own image. Most of them were dark and scary. Some I have already forgotten. The other…"
Cassie fell silent, remembering.
"I saw the human castle again... this time there were no people inside of it; instead, there were puppets everywhere with strings from their heads that end somewhere in the endless sky. But the strings don't emerge from people alone; the sun and the shadows of puppets have strings too. Then I saw a woman with a bronze spear drowning in a tide of monsters; an archer trying to pierce the falling sky with his arrows."
Finally, she looked up, her face full of horror.
"In the end, I saw a colossal, terrifying crimson spire standing in the middle of a sea of blood that floated upon it, the dead bodies of both nightmare creatures and humans. At its base, seven severed heads were guarding seven locks. In the skies a monarch of darkness was battling an angel of light."
Cassie took deep breathes, fear etched in her face.
"T-Then I... I saw it, something I couldn't forget. A picture stuck in my head. A golden demon-like serpent emerged from the sea of blood, wrapping itself around the crimson spire; it devoured the being of dark and tried to reach for the angel of light to devour it too."
Her voice became quieter.
"Then, I felt so much sorrow, pain, and rage that what little remained of my sanity seemed to disappear. That was when I woke up… I think."
Nephis and Sunny remained silent for a while, trying to make sense of what Cassie had told them. Even if Nephis had an idea, she didn't show it. Sunny, however, was totally lost. He couldn't even begin to decipher the hidden meaning behind the vision… if it even was one.
Previously, Cassia's vision about the castle was pretty much straightforward. It showed her a human fortress and even the direction in which it was situated. This time, however, her dream was disjointed, full of weird symbolism and vague, uncertain images, much more like a charlatan's prophecy than a vision gained through an Aspect Ability.
Finally, he sighed.
"Maybe it actually was just a nightmare. Your previous visions weren't like this, right?"
Cassie silently shook her head.
Sunny scratched the back of his head.
"Well… people don't usually dream in the Dream Realm, but you do. Perhaps seeing a random nightmare once in a while is a side effect of your ability."
The blind girl turned to him, a faint relief written on her face.
"You really think so?"
He hesitated, trying to find the right words.
"Why not? It's a possibility."
Inwardly, however, he felt uneasy.
'A monarch of darkness, angel of light, and golden demon-like serpent… why does it sound so ominous? I should try and stay away from angels and demons in the future. Gee, what has become of my life. A sentence like that doesn't even sound insane anymore…'
With that, they were finally ready to welcome a new day.
***
Effie moved toward the Bright Castle; following her were Nephis, Sunny, and Cassie.
After reaching the Dark City, they met a gluttonous demon in human form; that was Effie, the one whom they were following.
And she was the one who told the harsh truth: the citadel they were searching for doesn't exist, and this city is but another hell in the abyss of despair that is the forgotten shore.
Then after resting for a day, they began walking their way toward the Bright Castle.
In the way she told them a lot of helpful information about the society of the Bright Castle. Such as Gunlaug, his subordinates, the Hunters and Pathfinders, the Castle Guards, the Handmaidens, and the Artisans.
Now as they finally reached the castle, Sunny sighed and asked again, "So you said you want us to do something first... but you still didn't tell us."
"You are really impatient,, aren't you?" Effie sighed, "Fine, we are going to meet someone before we go on our way."
"And that someone is?" It was Nephis who asked this time.
Effie grinned, "You'll see."
Sunny rolled his eyes. 'There she does it again!'
As they reached the gates, the guards stopped her.
Effie pointed at the three behind her. The guards looked at them for a moment, then nodded, opening the way to the castle.
As they passed, one of the guards spoke, "Welcome to the Dark City newcomers."
Effie guided the three through the castle, explaining some parts of the castle if she felt like it.
Then finally they found their destination. In front of them was a simple wooden door.
She knocked on the door.
A voice, that of a man in his early twenties, resounded in the room, "Who is it?"
"It's me," Effie responded.
For a moment there was only silence for a second, then the sound of a sigh. "Did you use my name to slip into the castle again?"
The door opened, and a man taller than Nephis but shorter than Effie appeared in front of them. He had black hair that covered his neck, his hair styled in a wolf cut. Dark brown eyes that looked black. He wore a simple black shirt and trousers and leather boots.
The man glanced at Effie and then at the three behind her. He put his hand on his chin and spoke:
"Hmm... A legacy, an outskirts rat, and a normal blind girl...? What a weird combination."
Sunny looked at himself through his shadow, then at the man...
'Ok, how in the Spell's sake he knew I'm from the outskirts?!'
***
Sorry, there was no chapter yesterday. Tomorrow, also, I might not update a chapter. Also, I know most of the chapter is a copy-paste with few tweaks, but it was necessary for the plot.
See you again later