It took Aelon quite a while to reach the bottom part of the dead Nightmare Creature.
'Wait... if it's dead it must've sunk down to the bottom of the sea. That means... that means if it landed on it's stomach I'll be fucked! The floor will be in the way.'
Rigor mortis had set in quite a while ago. Aelon felt drained. What took him twenty minutes priorly now took at least two hours.
At the very least a month has to have passed since the demise of the Devourer of Seas. At most half a year. Time was a difficult matter when your only companion was the cadaver of a corrupted being.
The corrupted being had to be sort of amphibious creature. After all the water from the dark sea would drain away at day time.
'Can it even be called soft-tissue when it's hard-'
Just as Aelon was about to finish his thought, his blade collided against something solid.
'Another bone?! It can't be... unless I'm at the rib area. Let's see.'
Revealing more of the surrounding area, and using Minos' Soulblade to illuminate it, he revealed an ink black bit, that was drastically different from the red flesh.
It covered the entire area below. It didn't have the texture of bones.
It was the skin.
'That's some tough ass skin.'
Hammering his dagger against the floor continuously, Aelon's blade only produced a loud clink and didn't seem to even put a dent in it.
'Wait...'
Feeling the floor, he could feel various differences in texture. It wasn't even in the slightest.
'This must be the connective tissue connecting these plates that make it's skin.'
Driving his dagger against the small gap he found, it loosened, and several scales fell forward. A hole was created.
Water rushed in. Way to quickly.
Cutting and slashing the connective tissue faster and faster, Aelon managed to finally create a hole through which he fit.
When he summoned the Aquatic Hide, and dispelled the daggers, he climbed into the water.
There was one problem though.
The pressure.
'GAH FUCK FUCK FUCK! IT HURTS!'
Aelon felt as if he was being crushed from all sides.
In a haste, ears cackling, and impossible headache violating the calm of his mind, he summoned the [Mussel Bed]
Climbing in, he quickly closed it and felt the pressure stabilize. The mussel bed naturally traveled upward.
When he looked down, he saw that adrenaline had done way more work for him than he wanted to.
Blood was dripping from his ears and his nose. Not long after he felt a rush of the same metallic liquid invading his mouth.
'Internal injuries!'
Miraculously he hadn't broken anything.
'Okay... I can't do anything for now. Let's wait until it's day-'
Before he could finish his sentence, a violent coughing fit interrupted him. Of course... the phlegm was blood.
"G-gah... fuck me... I can't die like this just after I got out of that beast!"
Gritting his teeth, Aelon endured the mind numbing pain coming from his innards. His mind had a low pain threshold though.
He lost consciousness.
'No... If I collapse now... I won't wake up...'
Darkness spilled everywhere.
...
Aelon woke up. Excruciating pain came from everywhere, his head, his gut, his arms, his legs, his back and his chest.
It seemed like the bleeding had stopped. Disoriented, Aelon opened the Mussel Bed, and climbed up. What he saw before him wasn't anything like he expected though.
Behind him, a dark expanse of land was rising above the slope of the colossal crater.
And on it, a tall city wall built of grey polished stone was towering over the giant chasm of the abyss. It looked ancient but still impenetrable, able to withstand the crushing pressure of the dark sea for a thousand more years,
"I... I made it."
Dispelling the Mussel Bed, Aelon grabbed his daggers, and wanted to climb down. The moment he tried to take a step, he lost balance though.
'What?!'
Standing up with trembling legs, he tried again. Everything spun, and he collapsed a second time.
"FUCK!"
'It seems like the injuries by the water pressure weren't as light as I thought.'
He was forced to stay here.
...
On the way out of the castle, Kai was strangely silent. Sunny didn't mind, because he had a lot to think about.
Going back to that lodge… there were a lot of things there that he had hoped to never see, feel, or experience again. For a moment, he even thought about rushing straight back to his cathedral without making good on his promise.
But why should he? It's not like he asked to be invited back. Nephis was the one who wanted his help with something.
'Just pretend like you don't care. Also, demand to be compensated for whatever it is they want you to do. You're an outsider now, and your services won't be cheap.'
Yeah, that was the best option. He wasn't going to agree to anything that didn't serve his own selfish interests. And there were a lot of things that Changing Star, with her thriving hunting party and following, could provide him with.
There was this one thing in particular, something he really wanted to do, but couldn't on his own. Maybe they would be able to help him with that...
As they were approaching the lodge, Kai suddenly asked in a serious tone:
"Sunny… why did you want me to come with you, really?"
Sunny sighed. Glancing at the charming archer, he hesitated, then said:
"I want you to tell me if I'm being lied to."
Kai frowned.
"I thought that Lady Nephis was your friend. Why are you so wary of her?"
Sunny chuckled.
Was she a friend? Even he didn't know what exactly the two of them were to each other. Worse yet, he wasn't sure what they would become.
"She's the kind of friend you don't really want to lower your guard around."
He lingered for a moment, then added:
"There's also a guy called Caster. He's the one I especially don't trust."
The archer raised his eyebrows.
"I've heard only good things about Caster. Why him specifically?"
Sunny cast a sideways glance at him and scowled. To be honest, Caster hadn't really done anything to deserve his hostility. But there just was something about the proud Legacy that gave Sunny a familiar feeling.
He was too perfect. In Sunny's experience, only people with bad intentions were capable of appearing so flawless. Perhaps he was wrong, but the policy of always assuming the worst had too clean of a track record to be abandoned now.
"He just gives me the creeps."
Seemingly satisfied with this answer, Kai shrugged and followed Sunny into the lodge.
The headquarters of Changing Star's hunting party had changed a lot since his last visit. It had already looked pretty presentable back when he was a member, but now, the lodge was much more impressive.
The first thing that caught the eye was that it had grown much bigger. During the months of his absence, additional structures were built to expand it both horizontally and vertically. Now, it was by far the largest building in the outer settlement, almost starting to resemble a small town hall.
It was heavily fortified, too, especially from the side that faced the white road. A couple of lookouts were visible on the roof, observing the ruins below. They were wearing armor-type Memories and holding bows in their hands.
It was a far cry from how things were before.
Inside, a lot of people were busy with various tasks. Sunny froze for a moment, disoriented by all the activity. He almost felt as though he had somehow mistakenly returned to the castle.
The reason for it was not the neat and tastefully decorated interior, with warm carpets covering the stone floor and various tapestries hanging on the sturdy stone walls. No, the main difference was in how the people here comported themselves.
The rot of hopelessness was almost gone from their eyes, replaced with energy and vigor. Sunny frowned.
'Why hasn't Gunlaug put an end to all this yet?'
From everything that he saw, Nephis was almost asking to be destroyed. How was all of this possible?
His grim thoughts were disrupted by a young woman who greeted them with a smile.
"Welcome! Can I help you with something?"
Sunny stared at the smiling girl, trying to remember if he knew her. No one came to mind. Trying to remove the scowl from his face, he answered in a flat tone:
"Neph is expecting me."
The young woman blinked.
"Uh… sorry. Who is Neph?"
Sunny rolled his eyes.
"Sorry. Lady Nephis is expecting me. You know… Changing Star of the Immortal Flame Clan?"
The young woman's eyes widened.
"Oh! I see. Let me show you the way…"
Sunny wanted to retort that he knew the way, but truth be told, he wasn't sure that he did. With all the changes that happened to the lodge, he had no idea where things were.
On their way, they passed the tiny room that used to belong to him. Just as they were walking by, Sunny glanced inside and saw that it was now home to someone else.
In fact, he recognized a couple of things that the new owner left on the narrow cot. They were Caster's. A corner of his mouth curled upward.
'Figures.'
It seemed as though he was thoroughly replaced by the scion of the Han Li clan. Well, whatever. The cot was not very comfortable anyway, unlike his luxurious wide bed in the hidden chamber of the cathedral.
Finally, the young woman led them to the area that used to be the central hall of the old lodge. Now, it was separated from the rest of it by a thick wall, with a sturdy wooden door barring the way inside.
Sunny took a deep breath, then walked in.
He had imagined that moment a lot of times in the past.
…Granted, he never thought that his reunion with the cohort would happen in the presence of an unreasonably attractive, washed-out pop star. But still.
Inside the room, a wide window opened onto an eerily breathtaking view of the Dark City. On the wall beside it, a map of the ruins was littered with various markings that contained valuable information. They seemed to be much denser than before.
There was a large wooden table beside the window, around which stood seven makeshift chairs. Currently, only two were occupied.
Effie was sitting on one, her feet unceremoniously resting on the table. As always, she looked extremely comfortable and relaxed. On the chair next to her, a beautiful blind girl was cradling a cup in her delicate hands. It was Cassie.
Nephis and Caster stood near the map, discussing something with each other.
The four of them were the core of the Immortal Flame hunting party.
Once Sunny and Kai entered, everyone turned to them.
Sunny put on a brave face and forced out a grin.
"Oh, so many familiar faces. Hi, everyone. No need to say how much you missed me. Anyway, this is Kai. Kai, say hi to everyone — these are Cassie, Caster, and Effie. You already know Nephis."
Giving him a strange look, the charming archer smiled dazzlingly and said in his stupidly beautiful voice:
"Uh… hello. Lady Nephis, Cassie, Caster, huntress Athena… and Lyra, it's very nice to meet you."
Cassie giggled.
"Huh, you won't believe it guys, I thought I just heard Night from Nightingale say my name. Crazy, right?"
Kai blinked.
"Oh, sorry. I am Night from Nightingale, actually."
Effie leaned forward and extended one arm.
Cassie's face, meanwhile, grew deathly pale. An expression of utter terror appeared on it. Her hands trembled, and the cup she was holding fell from them.
Catching the cup just a moment before it hit the floor, Effie sighed and shook her head.
"Every time… this happens every time…"
Sunny furrowed his brow and glanced at the beautiful archer with disdain.
'Oh come on! Was that reaction really necessary?!'
...
Lyra watched quietly with a numb expression on her face.
A new member seemed to have entered the cohort. Bringing along Sunny.
There was one problem though.
In the past few months where she had reunited with the people from the academy, meaning Sunny, Nephis, Cassie and Caster, she had asked about Aelon quite frequently.
Nephis, Sunny and Cassie lied. She was sure of that. Something must've happened.
'Something must've happened. It's a pity. He could've been useful in the future.'
She wouldn't disrupt her survival chances because of a mere childhood friend after all. If he died because of them, then so be it.