The sun had just crested the horizon, casting Bright Castle's long shadow across the city below.
At the front gates, a lone Sleeper yawned and leaned on his spear. His guard shift had been quiet. No patrols were scheduled for today and the outskirt settlement was still. Even the Nightmare Creatures lurking in the city kept their peace.
And so it was that silence would begin Gunlaug's final day in power.
The first omen began as a single silhouette in the distance.
As it drew closer, it resolved into five.
The guard straightened and rubbed his eyes, shaking off the fog of boredom.
He recognized the one on the left first. Towering and broad-shouldered, with olive skin and well-worn leather armor. A heavy shield rested on one arm, a bronze spear in the other. That was Effie, the wild huntress who lived alone in the ruins. She carried the strength of ten men—and rumor claimed she'd once killed an Awakened beast with her bare fists.
Two faces he knew quite well walked on the right.
The first was the local golden boy, Night. It was impossible not to know him—a celebrity singer, in the waking world. His absence had sparked weeks of whispered rumors. He walked with a hand resting on a bow, and gaze scanning the castle ramparts.
Beside him was Aiko—the former gambling den owner.. Most assumed she'd scammed the wrong person and ended up dead in a ditch.
Apparently not.
She strolled casually, spinning a knife on a short silver string. The thread flashed in the sun, catching his eye. A strange rapier floated behind her, circling like a lazy hawk. Occasionally, it nosed at her coat, as if hoping to slip inside.
It looked... cold? As much as a sword could, at any rate.
The fourth figure walked a little behind the rest. The guard squinted.
It was the legacy boy who'd shown up last winter solstice. Caster, the guard thought. The boy's posture was obnoxiously perfect, and something about him rubbed the guard the wrong way. Many speculated that he grew discontent at a life in Bright Castle, and had set out to find a gateway.
Then there was one last person.
The guard didn't recognize her.
She was pale as snowfall, almost radiant, with sunlight catching on gold hair and glinting from a jeweled tiara above a cloth blindfold. Her armor was a flawless white, gleaming softly against the grime of the city. A sheathed black katana rested on her side.
She walked in the center, the others falling into formation around her.
Of all of them, she was the one that made the hairs on his neck stand up. Her presence felt still. Her shadow was a shade too deep.
It was made all the more unsettling though, as despite her wearing a blindfold, he could almost feel her staring through his soul.
He couldn't help but feel nervous, though he wasn't sure why.
As they approached the gate, he spoke.
"H—Halt!" the guard called, forcing steel into his voice. "Entry to the Castle requires a Soul Shard per person as tribute."
One of them— Aiko, still with a knife dancing on a silver thread—tilted her head. Then she sighed, shrugging her shoulders.
Without moving an inch, five soul shards arced through the air in a lazy parabola.
They struck his chest and arms in rapid succession, before tumbling to the ground at his feet.
He blinked down at them, stunned. One was still spinning. His mouth went dry.
The Soul Shards were more radiant than any he had ever seen.
They were Ascended.
The girl gave him a small, mocking bow. "Keep the change."
***
The cohort stood in the center of Bright Castle's throne room, quiet and still beneath the fractured light streaming through the high windows. Behind them, a scattering of tense guards lingered.
Eventually, the great doors opened.
A slow tide of Sleepers poured in—Pathfinders, Hunters, Castle Guard, and Tenants alike. They gathered in uncertain lines before the empty throne, drawn by summons but left without explanation. Low murmurs rippled through the chamber.
On the raised dais, two figures stepped forward from the shadows: Harus and Tessai. They flanked the empty throne but did not sit. Their gazes swept over the cohort with quiet intrigue.
In the silence that followed, one figure stepped forward.
Cassie.
Her voice was soft, but demanded attention.
"We bring word for the Bright Lord."
A ripple passed through the gathered Sleepers. Confusion gave way to unease.
The murmuring rose, until it consumed the chamber.
Members of the host clamored to catch view of the five figures in the center of the hall. All save for the girl in front were figures of note, returning after months of being considered dead or missing.
Tessai stepped forward. His voice rang across the hall like ice cracking.
"Quiet!"
The crowd stilled at once.
And then—he entered.
The Bright Lord.
Gunlaug's presence descended upon the room as a blanket of dread. Breaths caught in the throats of hundreds of Sleepers, and their gazes fell down towards the floor.
He said nothing until he reached the dais, before sitting upon the throne.
The crowd remained silent, with all cowering in fear.
Save for a single blind girl.
At last, the Bright Lord spoke.
"It warms the heart, doesn't it? Bright Castle, alive with such devotion. All my wayward children gathered together… and for what, I wonder?"
His tone was indulgent, though it hid a sharp ferocity that cut into the ears of the assembly.
He turned his gaze toward Cassie—and though she could not see it in the literal sense, she was the only one who knew.
All others faced the ground.
"You. I don't believe we've met."
He waved a hand.
"And yet here you stand. Offering wonderful gifts and news from behind a blindfold."
He let out a soft chuckle.
"Tell me, who are you?"
Cassie responded with a neutral voice.
"My name is Cassia. I arrived in these lands during the last winter solstice. Together with my comrades, I have sought the remains of the First Lord's southern expedition."
Gunlaug's fingers drummed against the armrest.
"Intriguing. I must say, it is a delight to see my missing subjects once again. Tell me, what secrets have you all discovered?"
Cassie remained still.
"We return with the First Lord's crown, and knowledge of how to escape these lands."
A fresh ripple passed through the crowd—small, but spreading. A few heads lifted.
The Bright Lord let out a soft chuckle, as if the idea were a joke.
"Escape," Gunlaug echoed, his voice light. "A heavy word to toss into the room without explanation."
He leaned back slightly, the golden armor shifting as though it breathed with him.
"Please," he said, almost kindly. "Enlighten us."
Cassie clasped her hands together, raising them against the front of her chest.
"I am a seer, and have given up my sight to glimpse both past and future. Through my visions, I have gleaned the truth of this ruined kingdom."
She turned her head, left and right. As if glancing over the assembly.
"These lands were torn by a war waged between sun and sea. Should we seal away the sea, doors leading to the heart of the Crimson Spire will open. Within, surging essence from the unbound sun will activate a Gateway. Our only path to freedom lies at the heart of this citadel. We must act."
Gunlaug was quiet for a moment. Then he laughed—softly, almost genuinely.
"Seal the sea?"
The words echoed faintly in the chamber.
"Of all the dreams brought into this hall, I admit—I didn't expect that one."
He leaned forward slightly, resting an elbow on the armrest of the throne.
"The Spire, I believe. A citadel, a gate—yes, we've all guessed what lies within. But the Sea?"
A brief pause. His tone cooled.
"Do you understand what you're saying, girl? The sea swallows this entire land whole. How would one go about sealing a force of nature?"
He gestured, vaguely, toward the five of them.
"You speak of doing so, as if it were merely a cracked door to be closed."
He sat back again, golden visage stilling.
"Nevermind the impossibility of seizing the Crimson Spire, If your visions have shown you that sealing the sea is our only path to freedom—"
A pause.
"—then your visions are the clearest evidence that freedom is beyond reach."
Cassie raised her chin. Her voice remained steady, carrying clearly through the stagnant air.
"Perhaps for you, Gunlaug. But I have done what the First Lord could not."
Growing murmur's stirred.
"Surely you felt the tremor that shook these lands two days past? That was no storm. It was our battle against the Lord of the Dead. From its corpse, we claimed the final legacy of the Starlight Legion."
She turned her head down towards her katana, crown glinting in the suffocated light. Effie brandished her spear and shield, while Aiko adorned the Starlight Shard.
"The Starlight Legion left behind seven fragments—pieces of a grand sorcery preserved by the Spell in special Memories. These fragments are not mere relics. They are vessels of the Legion's lingering will to wage war upon the Dark Sea."
She unsheathed her sword, inspecting the surface of the blade with her fingertips.
"Gathered together, they form a complete pattern. Our key to salvation. We carry six of seven. The final, remains in the hand of your lieutenant, Song Seishan."
She gestured to the crowd, turning away from Gunlaug.
"Bring them together, and the Sea can be sealed. This much, I promise."
Before Cassie could turn back to face him, The Bright Lord began with something approaching amusement:
"Is that so?"
He shifted in his seat. The golden armor adorning his body whispered as it moved.
"I will not waste lives on a foolish fantasy. If you wish to throw yours away chasing shadows, do it far from my gates, and my people."
Cassie stood still.
"You misunderstand, Gunlaug. I wasn't asking," she said.
She turned on her heel, and leveled the fiercest gaze a blindfold had ever hidden.
"You will offer your aid, or I will remove you from your throne."
She lifted her chin.
"Those unwilling to seek freedom are unworthy to lead."
The Dawn Shard glinted atop her head as she pointed her katana towards the tyrant king.
"I may be blind—but even I can see your cowardice. The people deserve better."
A few in the hall stirred, some shocked, others staring in disbelief.
Gunlaug didn't rise.
He turned his head slightly, voice as calm as ever.
"Harus, dispose of the girl."
Then, addressing her four followers:
"Let it be known she died chasing a dream, and let this serve as a lesson to any foolish enough to follow in her footsteps."