Shard

A week had passed since Aldric completed his duel. 

After recuperating from the battle, he had spent his time training. Remembering his battle and the mistakes he made. Where he could improve. 

It was in this self-reflection that he had learned the weakness of his battle style. He was completely immersed in the flow of battle, along with his [Insight] attribute to guide him and his [Tranquil Core] to calm him. It stripped him of his capability to strategise mid-fight and be more adaptable in changing his attack pattern. It was something to work on.

He also joined many of the last hunts in the Dark City. Building bonds with many of the hunters.

Aldric was now walking through the droves of sleepers that Nephis summoned into the great hall. People instinctively parted around him in a mixture of fear, idolisation, and admiration. He could hear people mutter around him.

"Look, it's him!"

The first person uttered.

"The Dark Hunter. He singlehandedly turned the tides of the battle. Without him, that day would have ended in a ceasefire. Continuing the war for who knows how long."

An observant person beside him spoke.

"Tessai deserved what came to him. After what he and his guards did to my assistant artisan."

A lady joined their conversation.

While being renown was not new to Aldric, over six hundred sleepers was a lot more than the much smaller amount that used to reside in the outer settlement. He had gotten an untold amount of respect from every faction aside from the castle guards. From speaking to the hunters under Gemma that he often joined for hunts, it seemed that he was a substitute for the respect that they might have had for Nephis. Not everyone from the host was exactly fond of her after the hell that she brought upon them. Caster was glued to the side of Nephis and was thought to be her greatest sycophant. While Effie and Kai did not have enough of an impact on the masses. Finally, Sunny was only known to be a scout of Nephis.

With his decisive killing of Tessai and subduing of Gemma, people saw Aldric ending the war that Nephis had started. Where her own militia of outer settlement sleepers praised the air that she breathed. Nephis' admiration from the Bright Castle inhabitants was lacking. 

In comparison, Aldric seemed a lot more independent and self-sufficient than the rest of Nephis' cohort. So it was a given that people latched onto his image. After all, in times of strife and hardship, people cling to those that they deem are above them. 

It was mostly from the hunters that remained. Showcasing his capabilities in the culling of the Dark City, they could do nothing but respect his prowess. 

He was content with the attention he had received. He needed people to spread his name and prowess. Fame and renown were not actualised from within but reaffirmed from the world. It made Aldric think of a particular quote. 

'Any man that must say "I am the King" is no true king.' 

Drowning out the noise, he continued walking to the throne stage. 

'I took way too long in defeating that nightmare creature. I took unnecessary damage.'

He knew that a big reason as to why he lasted so long was due to the enchantment on his claymore: [Malice of the Deep]. Using his [All-Seeing Eye] and [Mantle of the Underworld], he had previously viewed what enchantments were on all his memories. Given the nature of the nightmare creature that he had received his claymore from, it made sense that the enchantment allowed him to endure grievous injuries and maintain his rationality in the face of such pain. Slowly healing his wounds over a long period. 

Is that not what the [Mindleech of the Deep] had done—enduring a grievous wound and healing over centuries?

When he had received the injury on his shoulder from the spider that guarded the statue before he had entered the Dark City, it was not the darkness that he wrapped his injury around that healed him but the enchantment of his blade. Saving him from bleeding out alone in an unknown cave.

While he was sad that such a useful memory was destroyed, what he had received was much more valuable in his eyes. More than an adequate enough replacement. 

He had finally reached the group and stood beside Effie.

Nephis' speech interrupted his thought process. With the return of Kai, it was time to tell them the news and the plans for what was next. Aldric tuned out her speech and focused on the reactions from the sleepers present. From the looks of fear and anxiety as she described the cruel reality of what life in the Bright Castle truly was. Sacrificing nearly a hundred sleepers each year to fuel the castle. To the looks of complete horror as she revealed that no new sleepers had been sent by the spell this winter solstice. And finally, the looks of complete worship and submission as they relied on their "Lady Changing Star" to guide them. 

'Disgusting'

He thought.

'Is this what the sovereigns feel when they look at humanity?'

It was a morbid thought. Whereas previously Aldric shunned these people for acting that way for another sleeper. He now knew. He knew that just as there were individuals that would shape the world like his group, there would be sheep to follow. It was just the nature of things. While he could hate such weakness in his heart, it was useful to take advantage of it. 

His point was only proven when someone shouted.

"Save us, Changing Star."

The other people who thought rationally could see through what was at play; however, with no power, they had no options. So as Nephis' said that those who did not want to follow her to the Crimson Spire could leave the hall, no one left. Even if they knew what she was doing, they still needed her. 

She finished off her speech with a final declaration. 

"The day after tomorrow. We will march for the Crimson Spire."

----------

On the last day before the charge on the Crimson Spire, it was time to retrieve the last piece of the shard memories. Based in the statue of the priestess, Nephis had assembled a small group of powerful sleepers to defeat the champion of the statue. 

The Lord of the Dead. 

A fallen tyrant. 

Aldric was walking beside Gemma as they spoke. They had a surprising friendship. They could value the bluntness of each other, and their specialty in hunting gave them much to talk about. 

"You know, in a way, the Lord of the Dead guided me to the Dark City. Without running into him, I would have wandered those caverns for months."

Gemma responded with wide eyes. 

"The nightmare spell really sent you far away, huh? It's rare for those that make it to the Dark City to have arrived that far out from the city's perimeter."

Arriving at the headless statue, they descended down to the burial chamber. 

Now, in view of the tyrant, they could see vines growing outside and inside of its bones. The beast was clearly injured and affected by the bone-eating vine. In a showing of utility and strength, Kido focused on her aspect and manipulated her bone vine to entangle the fallen even more. Inhibiting most of its movements. With it already weakened, she could maintain her control for a short period of time. In a shout towards the rest of the group, Kido spoke.

"I can only hold onto it for so long. Hurry up and kill it."

The battle has begun. 

**********

Thanks for reading. 

G3 truly is cooking. Now that Sunny left the ******* realm, I'm going to stack some chapters. Only started to read again because I heard of the Ki song flashback.

That is all, enjoy your weekends.