336 The Gateway

Out there in the darkness, a vast balcony was built into the wall of the tower, reaching almost to the center of the gargantuan structure. On its surface, broken pillars of marble were overgrown by the everpresent streaks of crimson coral. They led to a circular dais, with a wide iron ring submerged into its stone surface.

Around the ring, a beautiful pattern of runes was shimmering with familiar light. They were just like those runes that every Awakened had seen countless times when communicating with the Spell.

But that wasn't the first reason why Sunny had noticed it. The most unusual thing about the dais was that unlike everything else inside of the Spire, it was utterly devoid of growths of crimson coral. The stone surface surrounding the ring was strangely clean and untouched by it.

Looking at the shimmering runes and the iron rings through his shadow, Sunny felt something move in his heart.

He was sure that this was the Gateway.

They were so close…

As he watched it, the whole Spire suddenly shuddered. Massive pieces of coral broke off and fell down, crashing into other branches down below. Suddenly, the darkness that surrounded the Dreamer Army became less impenetrable.

High above them, the radiant halo of light became several times more bright.

…Nephis had reached the Crimson Terror.

With a somber grimace, Sunny escaped from his reverie and dashed forward, slicing several golems as he went. The frightened Sleepers followed, entrusting their fates into his hands.

As more and more tremors ran through the ancient tower and several enormous pillars of coral completely collapsed, they ascended even higher and approached the vast balcony.

And then, finally, Sunny jumped down and landed on solid stone.

Shattering a few golems, he cleared enough space for others to follow and watched several more people reach the balcony. One after another, the Sleepers jumped off the treacherous coral and joined him. Those who were the first to catch up repelled the attacking golems to let the others come down.

Soon, all hundred of them were on the balcony — and just in time. A few seconds later, a tremendous piece of debris fell from above, pulverizing the branch of coral they had used to get there.

Sunny lingered for a few moments, watching as crimson pieces rained down, and then turned away with a determined expression.

"Come on! We're almost there!"

The remains of the Dreamer Amry cut through the mass of golems and escaped it. Running with all the speed they could manage, the crowd of young men and women approached the Gateway and froze, stunned by the sight of it.

Hypnotized by it.

In front of them... was the hope that they had forgotten for so long.

The torturous promise of freedom that had taunted them every day, hidden away in the terrifying, looming silhouette of the Crimson Spire.

Their way home.

Salvation.

Most of them had spent so long on the Forgotten Shore that the thought of ever being able to escape it became nothing more than a distant dream. Even when they had followed Changing Star and chose to believe her promises, salvation was just a concept. An idea.

Now that they saw it as a real thing, many did not know how to react.

…Well, Sunny was there to make the process easier.

"What are you staring at, idiots?! Pick up your jaws and move! Battle formation! Protect the rear! Wounded and non-combatants go first, everyone else holds off the damn golems and then follows! One at a time, bastards!"

Coming back to their senses thanks to his angry shout, the Sleepers quickly reorganized themselves. Those who could still fight faced away from the Gateway and formed a defensive line, protecting the wounded with their bodies. Those who couldn't helped the people in the worst condition enter the iron ring.

Sunny watched as the first human was placed in the center of the Gateway. A moment later, the runes surrounding the ring flashed with shimmering light. The body of the Sleeper suddenly shone, too. The ghostly shine was dim at first, but then grew brighter and brighter. Soon, it was hard to distinguish the shape of the human body at the center of that light.

And then, the light dissipated, much like a Memory or an Echo would, leaving nothing behind.

After all these years, all that suffering, all that loss, the first Sleeper had finally escaped the Forgotten Shore.

Looking through the emptiness left by the disappearance, Sunny realized that he had forgotten to breathe.

A second later, an exhilarated cheer rose above the crowd of humans. The intensity of emotion in their voices… no words existed to describe the complicated, overwhelming conflagration of feelings burning in the chests of the survivors of the Dreamer Army at that moment.

Well, at least Sunny had none.

In the next moment, the pursuing wave of golems crashed into the defensive line, and the next human stepped into the Gateway.

The defenders held their ground, throwing the coral creatures back.

Sunny lingered at the edge of the dais, watching the crowd of humans. One after another, they were disappearing into the beautiful radiance of the Gateway, while the others continued to confidently repel the assault of the golems.

They were going to survive.

That meant that his job here was done.

…And, just as he had expected, Caster was nowhere to be seen.

Lingering for a few short moments, Sunny glanced at the Gateway one last time and then stepped away.

As he moved through the crowd of humans and approached its edge, someone suddenly called out his name.

Turning his head, Sunny saw Effie. The huntress was carrying the unconscious body of Kai on one shoulder, and keeping Cassie close to her own under another. The blind girl's face was ashen, confused, and empty.

"Doofus! Where are you going?"

Sunny stared at her for a few moments, and then suddenly smiled.

"...There's just some unfinished business I need to deal with. Take care, you three. I will… see you later. I hope."

With that, he took a step back and disappeared into the shadows.