I look out at the bridge in front of me.
"Already?"
Kai's trying not to panic.
"Already then. We can deal with this kai."
I put my hand on his shoulder. He flinches away.
"Yeah I suppose so."
He lets out a humorless snort
"thats something ■■■■ says a lot. I guess it infected me"
i nod. They had always been good at cheering people up. Always acting so silly and fun, its hard to figure out how they did it. I wish heat seeker was here.
"I... we can do this nightngale. And we have the valor exiles, you've worked with Morgan and summer knight before and even if saint dread left I'm sure sooner or later someone from the snow will show up"
mordrets voice pipes up
"yeah totally. Heh"
that tone, he's.... he's going to keep them all busy but we can deal with that.
Not long after the rest of the Saints arrive. I stand by Morgan and summer knight.
"Lightning slayer"
"summer knight"
we don't talk for a while
"so. Any plans for where to go after ravenheart falls?"
Morgan scowls
"if ravenheart falls then nowhere else is safe"
I shake my head
"i mean... the snow domain is safe"
she waves her hand
"do you think they would let us in"
summer knight chimes in
"yes. Back in the dessert they gave me and beast master cold drinks, even while they clearly didn't like us. That proves that they would help someone they... don't like."
I take a deep breath
"okay. So if the sovereign of hunger arrives we flee to the snow domain. They likely have some people stationed in the first one, if it got put back."
Morgan sighs "
I... it was a few years ago. Their likely less childish now"
I sigh heavily.
"They will still be petty, but most of its a act. From what I know, they put on a act. Not sure exactly why, but it seems to be a act."
Summer knight smiles
"maybe they'll drop it then. This is a very dangerous situation after all"
I don't have the heart to tell him, that no they will not break the act. Not for long anyways. Morgan studies me
"how do you know that its all a act?"
"Just something from the forgotten shores."
She waves her hand
"you know, everyone always talks about it. I've never seen the mov-"
"its not accurate. Look at the report instead"
she seems dumbfounded.
"I... was going to say that. Anyways I guess. Can you tell me about it later."
She looks out at at the bridge.
"This will go on for a while"
i look out as well
"yeah."
When the song sisters arrive. We stand on the walls. Countless awakened and ascended rush the bridge. I lift my sword ready to jump down. I dont think we can fight off all of the song sisters at once but we must try.
"Stop"
Kai's voice rings out stopping everyone trying to cross the bridge in place. I stay ready to jump down but, but maybe we can actually hold them off. I glance at summer knight who's next to me.
"Ready?"
He nods
"I am"
Seishan steps onto the bridge as she goes to speak, a roar so loud it shakes the bridge. She's thrown across to the other end and is caught by silent stalker. A massive beast made of metal pulls itself from the lava. It lifts itself up onto the bridge in front of the castle. The supreme devil the lord of shadows has! Its here?
"I was not... informed of that"
summer knight echos me
"we definitely weren't told of that"
we look at each other then back at the devil. Its far more terrifying this close. I stand up fully.
"I'm glad its on out side."
He studies it
"its a great devil, how did the lord of shadows even get that thing?"
It turns its head looking right at me.
"Wretch"
its voice is horrid. Wait did it call me a wretch? I've never even talked with it, wait it can talk?
More and more battles happen. I'm so tired. There's not enough time between battles for me to recover enough essence. I feel old. Mordret has been being a menace, talking in my head. Hes been having a lot of fun, apparently he went to see the movie I hate. Using lines from it. I wrap my arm in a bandage. Morgan sits down next to me.
"So about the forgotten shores."
I nod
"after we made our way to the final resting point of the first lord, and gained the crown changing star now uses, we fought a spire messenger, a fallen beast. We all got heavily injured, but we took it out in the end"
she nods
"and the memory you got from it?"
"A shield, raised by wolves used it"
She leans forward
"so. From what you've told me, it would seem that the memory gotten from the boss creature is the same as the weapon as the old heros"
I tap my foot
"that does line up."
She looks out at the bridge
"if the statue of the builder moves then how did seishan get its hammer?"
I shrug
"she never told us that, just that she had it"
I hear thumping. Damnation. I am poked in the face
"wretch"
its the iron fiend again. Morgan chuckles
"it really doesn't like you"
I try to take a deep breath but I'm poked again.
"Wretch"
I use my sword away to smack its hand away.
"Stop it"
it just keep poking me.
"Mongrel"
I sigh, this thing really does dislike me. What did I even do?
A few days later we stand on the walls yet again
"Impressive."
Seishan looks at us. I grip my sword looking at the countless motionless figures.
"But how long can you keep this up, Kai?"
Me and summer knight share a glance, this situation has been going on for too long. I find myself less and less loyal to changing star each day. Yet... yet I stay loyal to heat seeker. They've stopped trying to sway me from what I can tell
"This Citadel... it rightfully belongs to me. To us. What right do you have to occupy our mother's home? To steal our inheritance?"
It seems that even if i fall from her domain, I'd fall into the snow domain and not the hunger domain. I glance at Morgan who's sitting not too far away
"I've come to claim what is mine, Kai. Do not stand in my way."
Kai looks out at the woman standing together, all as one.
"Stand down, Seishan. Even if you defeat me and claim the Jade Palace, it won't belong to you or your sisters. It will only belong to the Dreamspawn."
He glances at the metal fiend standing next to him
"Not to mention that you can't defeat me. Not now, not here — not as long as I am the master of this Citadel."
she tilts her head like hes said something very interesting
"Did you say that I would not be able to defeat you as long as you rule the Jade Palace, Kai?"
Theres something so... inhuman about her gaze.
"I tend to disagree. However, if I continue this siege, the King of Nothing will easily make use of our disagreement. So, I'll just have to make you surrender the Jade Palace of your own free will."
I grip my sword tighter their planning something
"And how exactly are you planning to do that?"
She smiles its cold, far more so then even in the domain war, or the first one at least
"By the grace of Lord Asterion, of course."
Theres a slight silence, undercut by the wind.
"Sorry, but I don't think I'll be surrendering the Jade Palace to you, Seishan."
She chuckles at his words, nothing about this is funny.
"You did not think that you would call upon Lord Asterion in a moment of need either, did you?"
I put my hand on his shoulder as summer knight speaks
"Don't listen to her, Nightingale. She is just trying to rattle you and get into your head"
"you didn't even fully go through with it, the sovereign of snow appeared before you could"
she moves i can quite tell what she's doing over all the ash
"Behold the grace of our lord."
There's a lot of movement from the houses
"What are you..."
reinforcements?
"What about now, Kai? Do you feel like surrendering yet?"
After a long silence she speaks again
"Be it your way."
Figures fall into the ash. Killing themselves. Oh god, Asterion is making them... I feel sick. Theres a heavy pit in my stomach. Even summer knight takes a step back in horror
"How about now?"
More figures fall
"Not yet?"
Kai speaks his voice raspy
"stop"
"I'm afraid I cannot stop."
Two more into the lava
"Stop."
I can hear the smile in her tone
"Only you can stop this, Kai."
She laughed
"Stop. Stop!"
I can keep watching. I, no, we have to do something
"They will only stop when you surrender. Are you still hesitating?"
She simply sighed
"Look. Your hesitation has already cost dozens of lives."
A disgusting edge appears in her tone, less like her own, and more like his
"How many more people must die because of your inaction?"
I glance at Morgan who had stood up. As I go to look at summer knight he jumps off at seishan
"You... wretched..."
I run to the edge of the wall. He breaks through running at seishan, blocking and dodging many weapons but not all. He slows down as blood drains from every wound. I finally jump swords go to cut me down, but I take my transcendent form, for the first time since the first domain war, a cloud of ash even still i feel myself get torn apart. I weave through and I grab him. Bloody and half dead. I slow them down and I rush back to the wall. I jump to the edge and a metal hand takes mine pulling me up. I get up and I hold him with both arms.
"Gilead..."
Nightngale looks shell shocked. He looks at my face his face drops. He nods to the distance, to where the snow domain is. He looks at summer knight
"heal"
I turn to Morgan, i shift summer knight holding him with one arm. I run forward, and I take her hand
"what are you doing?"
I start pulling her feeling my hand get cut.
"I'm not done telling you about the forgotten shores."
I rush past Kai, I only stop for a second
"I'm sorry"
and I go back to running.
I get to the edge of the city. The whole place is destroyed. And there's
"oh hello!"
The vessels of mordret wave at me all at the same time. Morgan starts to let go but I hold tighter.
"Its not worth it"
i run past the smiling faces, to a small caravan, all filled with very familiar faces. My.... citadel? Or well most of everyone who lived there at least. I put summer knight onto a cart. He's still not doing well. I run forward, and there's a familiar face attached to it. Flame of the divine. I climb on pulling morgan up with me.
"Let's go."
Everyone climbs on and we start moving. I hear a boom. Looking back, there's a fight breaking out, mordret and the hunger domains forces lead by silent stalker. Morgan sighs next to me
"saved by mordret. Who would have guessed."
She laughs, although its hollow.
The world quickly fades to white. Both me and morgan summon warming memories, flame warms up the cart, still its getting too cold for the normal people, and we are only a quarter of the way there. I lean back, morgan has joined everyone else to watch over summer knight. I put my hands over my face. Is that what the poster meant? What happens now. Flame of the divine stops. I get off, he nudges me forward although he looks nervous. I walk forward slowly coming into sight of a lone figure. For a second, its swear it had three eyes, two on one side, but its just a memory. I know who it is.
"Han li caster."
Its them, its my first real friend.
"■■■■"