332 siege of the Crimson Spire (18)

Sunny swayed a little, and then looked down at his shadow.

The shadow seemed to be in pain. It was slumped, clutching at its chest with one hand and waving at him with the other. When it noticed that Sunny was staring at it, it desperately pointed to itself.

'What… what is this guy trying to say?'

Was he having a heart attack? No, of course not. That would be ridiculous. Shadows didn't have hearts…

What was it pointing at, then?

Sunny scowled.

The shadow was his reflection. So maybe it was not pointing at its own heart, but at his.

But his heart felt fine. What else was there to point at?

Suddenly, his eyes widened.

The Soul Core. The Soul Core usually overlapped over a human's heart…

With a shudder, Sunny dove into the Soul Sea.

Instead of the usual peace and quiet, he was met by ominous chaos. The dark waters that were always tranquil and still were now restless and turbulent. They rippled and surged, as though under the assault of the invisible winds.

Up above, the spheres of light that represented his Memories shimmered and blinked, as if about to be extinguished. The black sun of the Shadow Core was trembling. He could almost see tiny cracks appear on its transparent surface.

Only the silent shadows were still the same, not disturbed by the approaching disaster at all. They stood motionlessly, staring at him with no expression on their black, lifeless faces.

Sunny did not pay them any attention and stared at the Shadow Core with wide eyes, dumbfounded.

'...Soul damage. I am receiving soul damage.'

He was under the effect of a continuous soul attack.

Escaping the unquiet sea in panic, Sunny wiped the blood off his face and looked around with a grim expression. He was even paler than usual.

'What the hell is attacking me?'

After a few moments, he suddenly shivered, stunned by a chilling revelation. And then looked up, at the blinding disсus of the sun.

…He had not been wrong. Its light was indeed much brighter than it had been before.

The skies of the Forgotten Shore, which had always been grey, were now almost white, full of merciless heat and radiance. It looked as though someone had erased reality itself, leaving behind nothing but an endless white void. With each second, it was growing more and more incandescent.

'The sun…'

The source of the soul attack was not a Nightmare Creature.

It was sunlight itself.

Anywhere it reached, the souls of living creatures were being slowly eroded and destroyed. And since the sun was now directly above them, at high noon, there was almost nowhere where it couldn't reach.

There was no escape from it.

Except for…

Turning around, Sunny stared at the opened gates of the Crimson Spire. Behind them, welcoming darkness promised shade and safety. This was the only place where he could hide from the annihilating sun.

'The army!'

Spinning around, he peered across the moat.

Out there on the battlefield, the Nightmare Creatures had stopped their endless onslaught. Now, they were stumbling and swaying, as though drunk. Many had already fallen to the ground, blood streaming from their orifices.

Their souls had been destroyed, and they were dead.

The surviving warriors of the Dreamer Army were staring at them in bewilderment, their distant figures full of both relief and confusion. Sunny wanted to scream, warning them of the terrible danger they were in, but knew that he was too far away for anyone to hear him.

From the tall mound of coral he was standing on, he could see the graceful shining figure in their midst. He knew that Nephis must have figured out what was going on by now.

But she didn't know that the gates of the Spire were open.

'Think, think!'

Sunny lingered for a few seconds, and then raised his hand.

A moment later, a clear ringing of a silver bell spread across the Labyrinth, rolling over the remains of the Dreamer Army.

Far away on the battlefield, Nephis spun and looked in his direction.

'Come on! Come on, Neph!'

Sunny rang the Silver Bell again and waved his hand in the air.

However, there was no need. Changing Star had already moved, thrusting her sword toward the Spire. In the next moment, the Dreamer Army lunged forward. Sleepers were running with all the speed they could muster, following the command of their Lady.

"Yes! Wait… what is she doing?!"

Nephis herself did not follow her soldiers. Instead, she turned around and ran in the opposite direction.

…To the distant pillar of coral that they had left at the start of this mess.

Sunny's heart skipped a bit when he realized that she was going back for Cassie.

But there was nothing he could do to help, not anymore.

'Good luck…'

Jumping down from the mound, he rolled on the ground and ran toward the darkness of the Spire's doorway without looking back.

…However, before Sunny could reach it, he saw something falling down from the skies.

'What the…'

A ragged human figure slammed into the crimson coral and rolled several times before coming to a stop, then remained still. Sunny dashed toward it, quickly recognizing the bright colors of Kai's armor.

To his relief, the charming young man was still alive, if barely conscious. A graceful rapier was worriedly zipping in the air around him, the steel of its blade bleak and devoid of the usual luster.

The two of them must have been high up in the sky when the soul erasure had begun, much closer to its source, and so suffered more than those of them on the ground.

Not wasting any time, Sunny grabbed Kai by the collar and dragged him toward the opened gates of the Spire. The Quiet Dancer followed.

Soon, the three of them reached the border between light and darkness. Without hesitating even for a second, Sunny dove into the cool shade, made a few steps to get deeper into its shelter, and fell to the ground.

"Ah…"

Only now, protected from the annihilating sunlight by the solid mass of the ancient tower, he realized how terrible his condition had been. But no more. His soul was finally at peace once again, whatever wounds dealt to it already healing.

Kai was still alive, too.

"Lucky bastard."

'Thank gods… uh, I mean — that fool owes me big time now!'

Breathing heavily, he checked on the unconscious archer, then sat down and stared at the blindingly bright landscape outside.

Were the... were the others going to make it?

A few seconds later, something suddenly flashed through the air. It was Caster: falling on his knees near them, he glanced at Sunny with tired eyes and then gently placed an unconscious Sleeper he had carried with him on the ground.

Without saying anything, both of them then turned to the gates of the Spire and looked into the light.

Seconds passed in torturous silence.

...And then, a human silhouette appeared out of the brightness. And then another, and another.

The survivors of the Dreamer Army had reached the island and dashed toward the life-saving darkness of the gargantuan tower. Soon, they crossed the distance separating them from the gates and dove into their shade.

Sunny watched, something sharp moving in his chest.

A torturous eternity later, he finally saw the familiar figure in white armor appear at the doorstep of the colossal structure.

Carrying Cassie, Nephis entered the shadows.

She was the last one to come.

Looking at them and at the small crowd of Sleepers gathered at the border between darkness and light, Sunny was finally able to exhale. They made it.

The battle for the Crimson Spire was over.

Now all they had to do was find the Gateway hidden somewhere inside the ancient tower.

…And survive the wrath of its master.