Cassie sensed the arrival of her friends before she heard them, thanks to Quiet Dancer, which was resting in her scabbard.
Effie and Kai's pods weren't in the Academy, so it took them a while to finally arrive.
As she felt them approaching, a confused expression grew on her face. Because she sensed and heard only one pair of footsteps and... the turning of a wheel?
She frowned slightly, she clearly heard Effie and Kai's voices. Yet there was only one pair of footsteps.
Something wasn't right.
"Effie, Kai...Did something happen...?"
Cassie even forgot to greet her friends back, and asked in concern.
She heard a shuffling sound coming from Kai's direction.
"Everything is alright... It's just Effie is..."
He was interrupted by Effie's giggling voice "Cassie, you should have seen Kai's face when he saw me, he was frozen in place by my beauty!" Cassie again heard the sound of a spinning wheel.
"Yeah..." Kai didn't sound embarrassed as she expected. He sounded sad.
Something was very wrong.
"Kai, what happened?"
There was a moment of silence before Effie spoke.
"It's just my body is very weak I can only move on a wheelchair."
She answered plainly. But Cassie could feel it was an unpleasant subject for her.
"What... What happened to you?!"
Even though Cassie never truly saw the hunter, just being around her is enough to feel the vigor that always surrounded the huntress.
It was really hard to believe that the same person was now very weak, they had to use wheelchair to move.
"Nothing really, that's just how I've always been in the waking world." Effie said simply.
Heavy and awkward silence descended on the table where they were sitting. Nobody knew what to say.
Finally the silence was broken by Kai.
He cleared his throat and said in his pleasant and soft voice "it's good to see you again, Lady Cassia." he paused and continued in a worried tone "Have you seen Sunny and Lady Nephis? We haven't seen them at all, and..." He sounded uncertain of what say next "And we also heard some... outrageous rumors on our way here."
"Yeah!" Effie seconded him "I heard some say that doofus kidnapped princess. Can you believe that?!"
Kai nodded repeatedly next to her. These people didn't know his honest friend like he did, there was no way his friend would kidn--
"It's obviously princess who kidnapped him, that's just the type of woman who she is!" Effie smiled proudly like she just solved a great mystery and already closed the case.
Kai woodenly turned his head and stared at her, his face completely blank.
"..."
"What?" Effie raised an eyebrow.
"... Nothing." he sighed internally. He should have expected this from Effie.
He finally looked at Cassie. She wasn't looking at them, but staring towards a certain corner, maybe seeing something only she could see.
Kai suddenly had a really bad feeling.
"They didn't make it."
Realizing how bad it sounded, she hastily added "I meant both of them didn't make it to the gateway. They are still alive in the Dream realm."
Kai rested his hand on his chest, Cassie almost gave him a heart attack.
Effie leaned forward, all the mirth gone from her face and asked "Do you know what happened there?"
Cassie clenched her hand under the table "I have some ideas but I am not sure."
If Kai and Effie noticed something, they didn't comment on it.
No one said a word after that for a while, until Kai spoke.
"At least they are both together, if anyone can make it through the Dream realm and find another gateway, it will be those two." He said trying to reassure his friends and maybe himself too.
"Yeah." Effie agreed, before smiling mischievously "And I bet those two are all over each other by now."
Kai almost facepalmed "Is that all you can think about?"
"C'mon Kai, you must have seen the way they were looking at each other!"
"Still it's impolite to talk about them like that."
"So, you have seen it!"
Cassie only heard their banter, but she wasn't paying any attention to them.
'Can they make it? I know better than anyone else how strong these two are. But is it enough?... They are still sleepers at the end.'
Cassie was so deep in her thoughts, she didn't hear Effie calling for her.
"--CASSIE!" Effie was leaning forward and waving a hand in front of her face... Not a very effective tactic considering her blindness, but she could sense it with Dancer's help anyway.
"Yeah?" Cassie snapped out of her thoughts and answered.
Cassie couldn't see the concerned look on both of Kai and Effie's face. But she could hear the enthusiasm in her voice when she talked.
"Do you wanna know my Awakened ability?"
*****
The next day, Kai and the rest of the survivors of the Forgotten Shore gathered in the conference hall.
There was a screen displaying the name of survivors, and on the top of the list were three names.
Raised by Wolves.
Nightingale.
Witness of Unwalked Path.
There was no Changing Star and no Sunless on the list... it filled Kai's heart with sorrow.
He was snapped out of his depressing thoughts when an instructor called Rock entered the hall to give them a speech about what being an Awakened meant and also to congratulate them for surviving.
After an hour, when instructor Rock was about to finish, someone from the crowd shouted "Where's Lady Nephis and Sir Caster!"
"Yeah, I don't see their names on the list!"
"Did something happen to them?... Are they..are they dead?"
"Also, where's the gloomy kid that lead us to the gate?!"
"Yeah, where's Sunless?!"
Murmurs started spreading through the crowd.
"Everybody calm down, I will answer all your questions. But please, calm down first." Instructor Rock tried to take control over the situation.
Gradually, all murmurs died until silence filled the hall once again.
"Unfortunately sleeper Caster of the Han Li clan has passed away, BUT." he raised his booming voice to kill any protests or questions before continuing "Sleeper Nephis and Sunless are still alive. We believe they are still trapped in the Dream realm." He paused, taking in the shocked faces of the Awakened crowd in front of him before continuing "We are currently moving them to a safer place."
Kai looked around, with his excellent sight he could see the shock on everybody's face, some looked worried while some looked hopeful.
Soon murmurs filled the hall again.
"No way... They are trapped alone in the Forgotten Shore?"
"Do you think they can make it?"
"Of course! It's Changing Star herself and a member of her cohort, I am sure they will find a way."
"But they are still sleepers after all..."
Of course, not everyone was very optimistic.
"I bet Caster died while trying to save that kid's weak gloomy ass. He would probably get Lady Nephis killed too." Said one young man.
Before Kai could say anything to defend his friend, a young woman, who has been sitting next to the young man, smacked him hard on the back of the head.
"You ungrateful bastard! Who do you think was the one that sealed the dark sea away when we almost got swallowed by it, huh? That guy Sunny was also the one who lead us to the gateway otherwise most of us here would be minced meat before we found the gateway!" The young woman glared at the man, daring him to challenge her.
The young man glared back, ready to start a fight. Until a shiver ran down his spine.
He suddenly felt many glares aimed at him.
The Forgotten Shore survivors were shocked and enraged by the news they just heard, so they wouldn't mind letting some steam out by beating the shit out of the annoying fellow.
The young man was smart enough to realize this. So he wisely shut his mouth and shrank back in his seat.
Kai watched the scene with a smile, it was nice seeing his friend getting the recognition he deserved.
'I wonder, what are they both up to now?'
*****
Inside Sunny's room, in the ruined cathedral.
Sunny and Nephis were sitting on the ground, a soft light from a single torch -- one of Neph's memories-- illuminated them both.
They were having the first meal they had since their emotionally draining night. As usual they were eating the tasteless meat of a Nightmare creature.
Both of them finally got some real shut-eye after days, and were already feeling much much better.
They finished their meal in silence.
Even if the tension from the events of the spire has significantly lessened, it was still there, looming over their head.
Surprisingly enough it was Nephis who broke the silence.
"We should discuss our plans."
Sunny simply nodded "Yes, but first. We need to share all of our abilities if we want to work together efficiently."
They were no longer the weak sleepers who were trapped in the crimson labyrinth with only very few memories, They were now the strongest and most resourceful sleepers the world has ever had.
Also, after reaching the Dark city. Both of them started drifting apart for multiple reasons.
Both of them grew and gained more strength away from each other.
They could spend time and talk all about their abilities and memories.
But they didn't have time. There was a fallen creature that needed to be dealt with as soon as possible.
And there was a simpler and faster method.
"Have you checked my runes?"
Nephis stayed silent for a moment before shaking her head.
"Same here." he lingered for a moment before adding with a sigh "You can look at mine if I get to see yours." he looked at her seriously "if we want to survive, we have to use everything in our power."
He pointed at both of them and added "that includes each other strength."
Nephis nodded in agreement.
He wondered why he was explaining it to her, she probably understood him from the start.
Maybe he was just trying to convince himself.
'It feels weird and wrong... to show someone all my secrets, all my strength and weaknesses... Even if it's Neph.'
Sunny shook his head and opened the runes. He was also going see all of Nephis' secrets too.
It was an equivalent exchange.
...It only lessened his discomfort a little still.
As Nephis' runes expanded, the paranoid outskirt rat took a step back, and the recently Awakened explorer inside him took a step forward, full of curiosity.
Truth to be told, Sunny was very curious about Nephis' runes.
Name: Nephis.
True Name: Changing Star.
Rank: Dreamer.
Class: Demon.
Soul Cores: [3/7].
Soul Fragments: [2749/3000].
'So... that's the gap between us.' Sunny stared somberly at fragments count, all his enthusiasm gone immediately.
He already expected Nephis to have three cores. Since she could use three augmentations at the same time. That of course if her Aspect worked like his.
It also confirmed his suspicious about the rank of her Aspect.
What he didn't expect, was for her to be already this close to forming the fourth core.
'The gap is almost 5000 fragments... I have to get stronger fast.' He still remembered his promise to Nephis if she ever tried to truly make him a slave.
He lingered on the fragments count for a while before moving to her memories.
He knew most of them like the Dream Blade, the Starlight Legion Armor and the Dawn Shard.
There were also some utility ones, like the torch that currently illuminated the room and the storage memory. But what caught his attention was the last one.
Memory: [Nameless Sun].
Memory Rank: Ascended.
Memory Tier: VI.
Memory Type: Weapon.
Memory Description: [For a long time, the Nameless Sun suffered in solitude, longing for all the things that were lost. Only when she lost that longing, too, was the Crimson Terror of the Forgotten Shore finally born.]
Something heavy settled in his heart when he finished reading the description.
'Rest now... Your Nightmare is over.'
After staring at the description for a while, his eyes moved to the memory's enchantment.
Surprisingly, The memory only had two enchantment.
The first one allowed the Nameless Sun to imbue another weapon memory with pure sunlight that increased its durability and sharpness, instead of manifesting as a weapon.
The second one allowed the weapon enhanced by the Nameless Sun to deal soul damage that will accumulate and doom your enemies into having their soul destroyed. Of course the blade has to cut through the enemy defense for it to deal soul damage.
But it didn't matter. With Dawn Shard in their hands, every memory they had was of the ascended rank, and add their ability to augment their weapons on top of that?
They could cut through any Fallen creature.
But of course, it will never be that simple.
'This is really good, our chance to make it alive is better now... And when saint recover, it will be even better!' Sunny thought, suddenly feeling much better.
He was about to check her attributes, when Nephis' quiet voice echoed in the room.
"M… Un…old?"
"Oh that? Yeah, it's an ascended memory of the sixth tier that I got for a handful of shards... shame it's broken."
'If only I could use essence... But it's okay, shroud is basically an ascended memory of the fifth tier with the Dawn Shard effect.'
Nephis simply nodded and turned her attention to the runes again.
'Should I tell her about the Weaver Mask in advance?'
Sunny only thought for a second before dismissing the idea. If she was going to see all his secrets, he would at least enjoy this.
He watched closely and noticed the slight movement of her eyebrow upward, and the way her eyes narrowed ever so slightly
He understood her well enough to know she was surprised and very intrigued.
'Huh, does she know Weaver?...Well it makes sense she is from a legacy clan after all.'
He put that thought in the back of his mind and focused closely on her face.
However, he didn't really need to watch closely to see the next changes in her expression.
Her eyes widened in shock, her mouth hang open in awe and disbelief
Her eyes kept flickering from the runes to him, her mouth opening and closing trying to form any words.
Sunny wasn't sure if he saw Nephis this expressive before.
He raised a hand to stop her from saying anything before saying in a serious tone.
"Before you say anything, let me explain." He waited till her full attention was on him and added solemnly.
"You have no idea what I had to kill to get this memory, just getting close to that thing is enough to kill you, I bet it could have wiped an entire continent by itself!"
If Sunny didn't kill the Vile Thieving Bird's Spawn --a great devil-- and get blood weave, he wouldn't have found the Weaver's Mask.
And who knows what that vile spawn was capable of if it hatched?
Nephis didn't blink once as she stared at him, all her efforts to compose herself immediately evaporated.
Looking at the horrified expression on Nephis' face, Sunny was sure he would never forget it.
He would also make sure she doesn't forget too.
Sunny graciously gave her time to collect herself.
After a minute or two, Nephis took a deep breath before slowly asking.
"Sunny, how did you kill an Unholy creat--"
"Titan."
"..."
"..."
"... Excuse me?"
"It's of the seventh tier. So it came from a Titan."
Sunny being the kindhearted man he is, explained patiently to his ignorant companion.
The room was silent again.
Nephis was contemplating something. But before he could identify it, she glared at him.
"So you want me to believe you killed an Unholy Titan?"
"Who said I killed an Unholy Titan? I didn't say anything." He shrugged, putting on his best innocent expression he could muster.
Looking at Neph's twitching hand he finally realized what she was contemplating.
'I'm gonna get Punched in the face.' his innocent expression slightly cracked.
Not wanting to find out if Nephis will follow her impulse and beat him up or not. He finally explained himself properly.
"I just found out on the face of a corpse in this cathedral. I got it just like how you got it the Dawn Shard."
Nephis only stared at him, still suspicious
Eventually, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath and slowly nodded, accepting his explanation.
She turned back to the runes as if nothing just happened.
Anyone else wouldn't have noticed any change in the stoic face of Nephis.
But Sunny could, he was the one that understood her best in the world, two worlds even!
Her eyes were slightly unfocused and her movements were stiff, she was still stunned no matter how much she pretended otherwise.
Sunny smiled, feeling very satisfied.
*****
Nephis' eyes were on the runes, but her mind wasn't, she was still in disbelief and in denial.
'A divine memory...of the seventh tier...one of the daemons's mask '
She frowned, she didn't really know much about the daemons, no one really did, but as the daughter of a great clan... Or at least a once great clan, she knew more than most, including some of the names of the daemons.
'Could that mask be the memory of an actual mask that weaver once wore... If then, did that mean that weaver once stepped on the forgotten shore?'
She shook her head and threw all those questions to the back of her mind. She would think about it later.
Back to Sunny's runes.
Echoes: —
Shadows: [Marble Saint], [Soul Serpent].
"Shadows?"
Sunny glanced at her, briefly confused before nodding.
"Yeah... just think of Them as Echoes that can grow in power. They are made by my Aspect."
She raised her eyebrows in astonishment.
Echoes and even memories capable of growing were extremely rare and also valuable.
As the Awakened grow in strength, they typically outgrow their useful memories and Echoes, forcing them to be always on the hunt for more.
That's why growing memories and Echoes are way more valuable than normal ones.
To have an Aspect capable of producing such Echoes was unheard of.
'An Aspect worthy of the divine rank indeed.'
She was extremely surprised when she saw his class. She didn't think for once there was someone else like her, who could have multiple cores.
Divine rank Aspects are supposed to be unheard of after all.
Sunny was too engrossed in her runes to notice her surprised expression.
In hindsight it made sense. She always knew Sunny was extraordinary, and the fact he had a true name should have made it obvious.
So, she didn't make a scene out of it... until she saw the divine memory.
'A divine Aspect and divine memory...'
Looking at the list of his Shadows, she recognized one.
She was familiar with the taciturn marble Shadow. But now, with Sunny explaining in details about Saint, as he calls her. Nephis' eyes couldn't help but shine.
The combination of [Weapon Sage] and [Underworld Armament] Could allow her to stand a chance and even win against enemies of higher rank or class, especially with [stalwart] that granted the knight high resistance to all damage and even immunity towards soul and mind attack.
Not to mention her ability to grow even stronger.
It was no exaggeration to say the Marble Saint was their best chance in surviving the Dream realm.
"I have a proposal."
She snapped out of her thoughts and focused on him.
"The way Saint can grow is by consuming memories, so let's make a deal."
Sure enough, at the bottom of Saint's runes was a fragment count.
He pointed at himself and continued.
"I get any memory you don't have a use of. What do you want in exchange?"
Nephis didn't really need anything from that deal. At the end Saint growth will also help her and she is only losing memories she has no use of.
She almost said she doesn't want anything in return, But stopped herself.
This was Sunny she was talking to, his paranoia will make him overthink this matter to find any hidden motives to it.
And that bond will definitely make things worse.
She decided to at least give him a something, even if it's small, to quell his paranoia.
"A favor." She simply said
"A favor...?" He raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to add something.
When she didn't add anything, he reluctantly agreed.
"...Fine, suit yourself." She noticed He almost added something, but held himself back.
She quickly changed the subject.
"What about the Soul Serpent?"
"Oh that? I got it from my Aspect legacy." He said, trying to act nonchalantly.
"..."
'An Aspect legacy...of course, why not...'
She opened the runes of the serpent and sighed internally in relief.
Shadow: [Soul Serpent].
Shadow Rank: Dormant.
Shadow Class: Monster.
Shadow Attributes: [Shadow Guide], [Soul Weapon].
Shadow Description: [When the end came, Shadow was the last of the gods to be destroyed. Many have resented him for creating death, but in the end, death embraced all.]
'At least it's not divine.'
Also the description did confirm one of her suspicion.
It was that Sunny or at least his Aspect were closely related to the shadow god , she wouldn't be very surprised if he had the Shadow god lineage too.
After some hesitation she asked "Why have I never seen it before?"
Sunny simply raised the sleeves of his armor revealing his bare arms.
On his deathly pale skin was a tattoo of serpent with such details it almost looked alive, its tail resting just above his right hand, its head just above his left.
Nephis didn't expect the Shadow to be a tattoo. But then again, Cassie's Echo was rapier with personality.
The first ability as Sunny demonstrated was the ability to turn the tattoo into a long dark odachi.
Unfortunately the Shadow was of the dormant rank and the Dawn Shard couldn't boost it since it wasn't a memory.
But the second ability on the other hand...
"You can use essence?"
"No, I did not say that, I said it only help in guiding essence throughout my body. I think it will only help me in using essence more efficiently when I awaken."
He paused and looked at the Serpent tattoo with mixed emotions on his face.
"But I did feel something strange when I focused hard enough..." His voice trailed off, unsure how to describe the feeling.
"Anyway, so far I can't find a use for it." Nephis detected a hint of sadness and disappointment in his voice.
She left him to his thoughts and continued reading his runes.
Attributes: [Fated], [Spark of Divinity], [Child of Shadows], [Blood Weave].
[Fated] was probably Sunny's innate attribute. It explained how he somehow was involved in every major event in the Forgotten Shore since they arrived, it might also have been the reason why he could find a divine memory as a sleeper.
There was nothing shocking about the middle two attributes. [Spark of Divinity] was like her [Flame of Divinity] but lower in rank.
[Child of Shadows] was most likely the reason he was able to blend so well in shadows, no wonder it was always hard to detect him when he was under the cover of shadows.
But [Blood Weave] was like nothing Nephis heard of before.
[Blood Weave] Attribute Description: "You have inherited a part of Weaver's forbidden lineage. Your blood has been altered and embued with odd tenacity."
'Weaver's lineage?... Beings other than gods had a lineage?!'
"Could you tell me about blood weave?"
Sunny stayed silent for a moment before speaking.
"Yes, it makes me less likely to bleed out and provides near immunity to poisons...it also allows me to see the tier and a detailed enchantment description of memories and Echoes."
'that is very helpful, being able to understand the enchantment of memories on the spot will maximize our ability to utilize them... No wonder he can give detailed description of his memories.'
He glanced at her runes "You also have a lineage attribute, right?"
"Yes, the sun god lineage." She confirmed.
"What are lineages anyway? And who are the gods? You also seem to recognize Weaver too." It seems these questions plagued his mind for a long time.
She went on and explained what she knew about the six gods and how every god had a lineage.
Sunny was especially interested in the Shadow god, unfortunately the Shadow god was also known as the god of mysteries. Too little was known about him.
"As for lineage attributes... They are able to provide Awakened with unique Attributes that could be passed down through a bloodline. For example, the immortal flame clan possessed one of these lineages, the Sun god lineage."
"Do all legacy clans possess a lineage?"
"The great ones, like Valor and Song, do possess a lineage. It's one of the main reasons that sets them apart from other clans."
Sunny nodded in understanding then frowned.
"Do only gods leave lineages behind?"
Nephis hesitated before saying.
"I think that should be the case ... Maybe that's why the spell describe Weaver lineage as forbidden. As for why it's incomplete? I don't know, I never heard about incomplete lineage before."
Sunny rubbed his eyes and asked wearily.
"What do you know about Weaver anyway?"
"Not much is known about the daemons in general. They appeared seemingly out of nowhere and were always elusive, and from the description of Weaver's Mask, Weaver might have been the most mysterious one."
Sunny simply nodded, and immersed himself in thought.
She gave him time to think about all the information she told him, and turned to his runes.
In front of Nephis, Sunny's runes shimmered with dim starlight.
Aspect: [Shadow Slave].
Aspect Rank: Divine.
Aspect Description: [You are a miraculous shadow left behind by a dead god. As a divine shadow, you possess plenty of strange and wondrous powers. However, your existence is empty and lonesome; you mourn the passing of your former master and long to find a new one.]
Innate Ability: [Shadow Bond].
Ability Description: [Find a worthy master and let them know your True Name. Once they recite it out loud, you will be bound to their will, unable to disobey any command. It is improper for a shadow, let alone a divine one, to walk around without a master.]
Nephis stared at the shimmering runes motionlessly for a long time.
'A shadow of a dead god...'
She glanced at Sunny who was still in deep thought, but didn't say anything.
It was better to avoid talking his innate ability now.
She scrolled further down.
She was already very familiar with his dormant ability, that allowed him to separate and control his shadow. She also was interested in something else.
Aspect Legacy: [Shadow Dance].
Shadow Dance Description: [Once an elegant dance, now a deadly battle art. This mysterious style was created by the treacherous Lost From Light after witnessing a graceful slave dancing with her shadows. Who else could have taken something so beautiful and turned it into something so vile?]
Nephis tried to suppress a smile. This was the second time the spell has called Sunny treacherous, the first time was from the marble saint description.
"What?" Her attempts to hide her smile must have failed, because Sunny was suspiciously eyeing her.
"Nothing, I just read something amusing." She decided to get some little revenge back on him.
Sunny was about to say something, but he was suddenly distracted. One of his shadows must have noticed something.
When he didn't say anything immediately, she understood it didn't need immediate action.
Anyway she was at the end of his runes.
But before reaching the bottom of the shimmering text, she noticed his Aspect legacy had not one or two relics.
No, it had seven relics.
...She wasn't as surprised as she expected.
'I hope my Aspect legacy is as good as this one...'
Her Aspect was also of the divine rank, so it should also have a good Aspect legacy like Sunny's.
...Right?
At last, she reached the bottom of his runes.
Flaw: [Clear Conscience].
Flaw Description: [You cannot lie.]
All traces of amusement vanished from her face.
'So that's how it is...'
Nephis always believed that Sunny's flaw was that he has to answer every question truthfully.
As a young girl who grew up not knowing if the person in front of you was an assassin waiting for the right moment to kill you or not, she had to learn to read other people and monitor their habits or she would die.
She also knew Sunny better than anyone else.
That's why she was able to detect the tiny signs of discomfort on his face when he answered a question he could easily ignore, and the fact he never lied when answering.
But as it turns out, Sunny can't tell a single lie, whether asked or not.
'No wonder he calls himself the most honest man in the world.'
It also explained his behavior before reaching the Dark city, the reason why he always tried deceiving her and Cassie by only telling half the truth.
It wasn't because it was a habit of his. No, it was the only choice he had to deceive others and protect his secrets.
She absentmindedly grabbed the Endless Spring and took a sip from it.
She had a lot to think about.
She glanced at Sunny whose focus was somewhere else.
Suddenly, he stood up and two shadows flowed from outside and attached themselves to his feet
"What are you doing?" She slightly tilted her head.
He answered without looking at her.
"Aren't you curious about where I got the Weaver Mask?"
"I am." She also stood up.
"Well it's in a hidden chamber down below. But first..."
He turned to look at her.
"Let's go and hunt a fallen beast."
The corner of Nephis' lips twitched upwards.
*****
The main hall of the dark city's cathedral was once covered in pure elemental darkness and was guarded by a dark knight.
Now, the cathedral's hall was covered in shadows and a slumbering beast was now its guardian.
The beast was forced into slumber by the sun's merciless light, the light passed through the beast's hide and tore its soul apart. But before it could fully destroy its soul, it managed to escape into this cathedral's merciful shadows.
But today, it was going to know the cruelty of shadows too.
After days of slumbering, the beast managed to mostly recover but not fully.
Thud. Thud.
The sound of something hard hitting the floor awoke the beast, its dim multiple spider-like eyes instantly regaining the spark of life.
It rose from the ground, four abnormally long and strong legs carrying its huge grayish wolf-like body.
A tail, that looked more like a whip with a sharp boney blade at its end, swung behind it.
The gray wolf's movements were not as graceful as normal, It was a bit slower and weaker.
Days of slumbering and the still lingering damage in its soul hindered it.
"Hey you." a voice echoed from the shadows.
The beast followed the voice of the intruder deeper into the shadows.
"Yes, you." the voice echoed again.
The beast reached the source of the voice and lowered its head to inspect it.
It was simply an ordinary rock.
Before it could crush the annoying rock, a voice echoed from the seemingly normal rock again.
"Above you." The rock whispered
At that moment, silver light exploded above the beast.
The Light was falling toward it like falling star, determined to destroy anything in its path.
The gray wolf tried to move away to avoid being hit. But it was too late.
It wasn't fast enough.
A blade cut through the area between the beast's right shoulder and neck. It wasn't deep enough to do fatal damage, but it was enough to draw blood.
A familiar but loathsome pain flooded the beast's mind, it was the feeling of its soul being torn.
It backed away while howling in pain; baring its sharp teeth towards the loathsome silver Light. Then it charged, wanting to sink its claws in the light and tear it apart.
The wolf was stronger, it was faster. Yet it couldn't touch the Light, for the Light was far more skilled in the art of combat than the beast could ever dream to achieve.
The Light moved elusively, never striking first, only retaliating with small cuts.
The cuts were shallow, but it was enough to lead to the beast's demise. For its soul was collapsing slowly but surely.
Amidst the gray wolf frenzy, it didn't notice a shadowy figure moving through the darkness.
It was as if the dark figure was attracted by the scent of blood, slowly approaching its source.
After getting close enough, the Shadow lunged at the beast's side with a dark blade.
The gray wolf noticed the sneak attack, and without taking its attention off the loathsome Light, it swung its tail, the bony blade ready to slice the Shadow in half.
But the shadow was a cunning one. It never intended to attack the wolf's side.
The shadowy figure rolled under the tail and rose behind the beast.
The wolf's hind legs tensed, ready to snap and crush the shadow with a devastating kick. But at that moment an unimaginable pain flooded the beast's simple mind.
A silver blade coated by sunlight slashed deeply through its left shoulder, and holding the blade was the loathsome Light, standing within reach.
Madness flashed in the Wolf's spider-like eyes. It ignored the Shadow and raised its right claw, the Light was so close, it could cut into pieces with its razor sharp claws.
But ignoring the shadow was the last mistake the beast was going to ever make.
The Shadow swung the dark blade in a wide horizontal arc, the shadow-coated blade cutting cleanly through the Wolf's hind legs severing them. Before backing away to avoid another attack from the tail.
With its balance disrupted, its attack against the silver Light deviated from its intended path, allowing the Light to narrowly sidestep the attack.
With only one limb to carry all of its weight, the beast collapsed.
Before it could get up again, the silver Light dashed towards it.
Reflected in the spider-like eyes of the wolf was the sharp tip of a silver greatsword coated in pure sunlight.
The greatsword also illuminated a face.
It was a face with cold gray eyes and silver hair adorned with a humble crown that contained one single bright gemstone.
It was last thing reflected in the beast's eyes before the greatsword impaled its skull.