What's Wrong

Before they could make the trek back toward Crestfall, the Sentinels finally decided it was time to attack.

They descended, splitting into groups before they reached the ground. While some were pulled by the souls of the living beings in the kingdom, others could not resist the tantalizing meal of the former Tyrant.

Sarai shielded her eyes as she looked up. "That's unfortunate...What do you want to do?"

Noble sighed. "What do you think? Should we clean up the trash here first?"

Nickel clicked his tongue. "Might as well. They will go to the city when they are done anyway. Killing them now is more efficient." He called forth his favorite long-range Memory.

Sheathing her estoc, the floating awakened summoned a bow and enchanted arrows.

Sarai raised both her spear and her eyebrows. "I didn't know you were an archer, Noble."

Noble hooked a grin. "I'm not. But It's kind of hard not to hit something in that mess, don't you think?"

Rain was the archer in their family. She had even had some lessons from the most famous marksman in the world. The charming Master had encouraged her remarkable talent. 

On the other hand, Noble had not put in the practice to be anything more than passible, especially since her bow was only a tier-one Memory.

Her enchanted arrows were only slightly better. The quiver never ran out and the [Wind Whistle] property enhanced the air around the tip to make it cut sharper and fly true.

The second function was less necessary now. Noble was going for quantity over quality.

Adjusting her aim, Noble let three arrows fly in quick succession.

They tore through the flimsy fliers, killing the first and digging deep into the second.

[You have slain a Dormant Beast, Soaring Sentinel.]

[You have slain a Dormant Beast, Soaring Sentinel.]

The Spell felt like an echo in her ears and it only continued as the other arrows landed.

Beside her, Nickel shot his strange projectiles into the horde. The rounds bore holes into the winged beasts, eliciting a shriek from each creature as it fell.

Most were too focused on the Tyrant's meat to pay any attention to the three puny humans, but the few that attacked were quickly brought down under the might of Sarai's spear.

Slowly but surely, the horde began to dwindle.

"It's like shooting fish in a barrel," Nickle commented after hitting three with one shot.

"Have you tried that?" Noble looked at him as she drew another shot.

She got a strange look in response. "Uh, no...not recently at least..."

They fell silent as the mindless beasts continued to flock around the dead Tyrant.

Noble continued to shoot until the motion was automatic. She almost wished the quiver would not have an endless supply. But every time she reached back, another feathered fletching was there for her to grab.

Her fingers were blistered, but she wasn't about to stop. Not until every last one was brought down from the sky.

They were around two hundred meters from the Tyrant and yet the blood filled the space in the crater formed by the dead Lord and was now flowing toward them like a grotesque stream.

It would have reached them if not for the protection of the hole that Sarai had made to save Nickel.

The seeping red liquid tumbled into the cavern in a crimson waterfall.

By the time they were done, the area around the tyrant looked like a lake of red wine. Noble shot a final arrow and dropped her arms.

They were on fire from exertion. She had no idea how long she had been bringing creatures out of the sky, but by the pile of flesh in the middle of the lake, Noble realized it had been hours.

No wonder she was exhausted.

Short bursts of energy were one thing, but grueling marathons, no matter how tedious, were much harder on her system.

Her muscles, especially in her arms, screamed for rest.

"Let's hope the Awakened in Crestfall had a better time." She spoke her thought aloud.

If the other two thought her comment strange, they didn't say it. They all instinctively looked toward what was left of the kingdom.

The air over the broken city was clear of movement. Hopefully, that was a good sign.

"There's only one way to find out." Nickel dismissed his long-range weapon in favor of his sword. He looked even more worn out than she felt.

That's when Noble realized what the mysterious projectiles that had been used like bullets actually were.

They were soul essence.

'You gave it your all, didn't you?' Noble sent him a concerned look.

He shrugged.

'I'll be fine.'

They searched for the soul shards in the Tyrant, but none were found. Noble had suspected this would be the case when she saw just how empty the Tyrant's chest had been. They must have been tied to Kraii's heart, which would have been what Counsel absorbed to become a Master. 

Yet another thing Ender had stolen from the group…

The earth shook slightly, groaning. The Tyrant and his mound of flesh began to sink.

Sarai pursed her lips. "We need to move. I am shocked the weight of that hasn't caused another massive collapse." 

The other two silently agreed. Abandoning the carnage, they moved swiftly back to the kingdom's gate, though not as quickly as they could. They needed to conserve the energy that they had left. 

When they finally made it to the entry, General Theo was waiting for them. His armor was covered in blood, but he was alive. He bowed. 

"A sentry saw you coming. Welcome back to Crestfall, Your Majesty, Your Grace, and Esteemed Nickel." Theo's reverence was clear in his voice. He turned and addressed those around. "All hail the heroes of Crestfall!" 

Cheers broke out among the crowd. 

Noble held up her hand to wave off the praise. Blood dripped down it from her blistered fingers. 

Theo called a soldier. "Go find Healer Bramwell immediately! He should be by the north wall." 

But Noble stopped him. "I'm fine, really. Don't work Bramwell on my account." She remembered the healer who lost part of his youth while helping others. "Hopefully he is only helping the most dire cases." 

"There are many of those," Theo dipped his head. 

"The fighting?" Noble noted how quiet the street seemed. 

"There may be a creature or two that is still around, but our troops fought valiantly." The General was exhausted, but pleased with the victory.

"The civilians?" The Queen looked toward the north wall.

It was still standing. Hadn't Theo said that the healer was located there?

"We are still sifting through the rubble, but the casualties are much lower than if we had not evacuated the southern part of the city. Many people owe you their lives." 

Noble could not accept Theo's words. Her negligence by not seeing Ender for who he was had brought this calamity on the city. 

It didn't matter his Aspect had hidden his true nature, Noble hated that she had ignored her paranoia in her quest to finish the Nightmare. 

"I am glad everything seems to have settled." Noble forced a smile.

The words brought her to the thought that was nagging her at the back of her mind. 

They had vanquished the Tyrant and killed off his minions. The city was at peace from what she could tell. The people were broken, but many were still alive and able to rebuild the ravaged city.

The war was over.

So...Why hadn't the Nightmare ended?

Noble got a sinking feeling. 

Theo's wincing face confirmed her worst fear. 

Something was very wrong.