594 Two Steps Back

Mordret was right below them, walking out into the great hall of the somber cathedral at a relaxed pace. Above his shoulders, a dozen blinding orbs of light hovered in the air, throwing white reflections of the dark stones.

Sunny silently stepped back, pulling Cassie with him. Pressed against the back wall of the gallery and safely hidden in the deep shadows, they slowly moved away.

Below, the spheres of light suddenly shot in different directions, illuminating a large portion of the dark nave. Luckily, their radiance did not reach the hidden gallery, be it just barely.

…What it did reach, though, were the hundreds of mirror shards scattered around the vast expanse of the inverse hall. Each of them shone, reflecting the white light.

It was as though countless stars suddenly ignited in the darkness.

Sunny silently cursed, knowing that those shards served Mordret as eyes. Who knew how many more were hidden throughout the cathedral? Without slowing down, he dismissed the Memories he had left behind, and continued moving toward the distant end of the vast circular chamber.

The Prince of Nothing, meanwhile, tilted his head a little:

"Where are they hiding? I wonder…"

Suddenly, he was surrounded by a whirlwind of white sparks. Sunny did not linger to see what Memories Mordret was summoning, and instead concentrated on reaching another door.

Before the sparks of light coalesced into tangible shapes, Cassie and he had already left the gallery, finding themselves in another corridor.

They had successfully left the sanctum behind and were now in the main structure of the Citadel. It was a large and convoluted space, so finding them here was not going to be easy — from where they stood now, just outside the nave, they could go anywhere in the temple proper, exit into the outward ring, or descend into any of the six belfries.

They could even circle back and try to hide in the seventh, the main bell tower, hoping that the mirror fiend would not expect them to return.

However, somehow, Sunny doubted that escaping Mordret would be that easy.

The morbid remains of his butchered victims were all around them, after all. None of these people had escaped...

He hesitated for a moment, then pulled Cassie in the direction of the outward ring. That was the part of the Citadel they both knew the best, which was an important advantage. Of course, the banished prince understood that, too, which meant that he would most likely be moving there, too.

This was a risk Sunny had to take.

At the end of the day, their goal was to escape… and they could only do that by reaching the sealed gates of the Night Temple.

***

A few hours passed, suffused with fear and tension. Sunny and Cassie had moved through the main structure of the cathedral, getting closer and closer to the outward ring. On the way, they took a short break — partially to eat and replenish their strength, but mostly because he simply couldn't walk anymore.

The exhaustion and pain were taking their toll on Sunny. Finding a safe spot, he fell to the floor and remained motionless for a while, breathing hoarsely. Then, he dismissed the breastplate of the Undying Chain, pulled the shirt hiding beneath up, and tentatively explored the dire wound dealt to him by Mordret.

The result was not too good… Sunny wasn't going to die anytime soon, but neither was he going to heal quickly. For the time being, he was as good as crippled.

"Curses…"

At least he had not bled to death… that was something, at least.

He summoned the breastplate back, then opened the Covetous Coffer and took out a couple of tubes of synthpaste. The two of them hurriedly consumed the nutritious sludge, and then, it was time to get back up again.

Before that, however, Cassie handed him something.

"...Here. You hold on to this."

Sunny took the item and raised his eyebrows, recognizing the shape. It was a small piece of cold steel, shaped into a semblance of an anvil.

His fingers, though, could feel that the thing was not at all simple. In fact, it seemed like one of the most potent artifacts he had ever held…

"Welthe's amulet? When did you grab it?"

The blind girl sighed.

"After you opened your eyes. I should have tried to reach his body in time, instead. If only I had more essence, I could have seen… could have done something differently…"

Sunny hesitated for a moment, then threw the amulet into the maw of the Covetous Coffer.

"Why are you so down? Yeah, we might have failed to get rid of that bastard, but then again, we've done better than a hundred Lost and two knights of Valor did. That's not too bad of an achievement, isn't it? Plus, Mordret's plans are also ruined… he might seem in control, but trust me, that guy is in as much trouble as we are. Things didn't exactly go his way, either…"

The blind girl remained silent for a few moments, then nodded and helped him stand up.

Somewhat rested, but not at all free of exhaustion, they continued moving forward, soon crossing into the outward ring.

When they did, however, Cassie suddenly froze, then trembled.

Sunny tensed.

'What…'

Then, he heard it too — the insidious sound of approaching footsteps. And a second later, Welthe's familiar voice:

"There you are…"

Gritting his teeth, Sunny grabbed Cassie's hand and ran in the opposite direction.

'Damn it, damn it, damn it…'

His chest was burning, pulsating with excruciating pain. They moved with all the speed they could muster, but what was the point? A Master was so much faster than an Awakened. Even though Mordret didn't seem to be in a hurry, the sound of his footsteps was growing closer and closer.

Before he could reach them, however…

The whole Night Temple suddenly shook, throwing Sunny to the floor.

An explosion of pain radiated through his body, and a moment later, his Shadow Sense was not constrained by the outer walls of the Citadel anymore. It pierced the black stone and easily reached into the vast emptiness beyond.

Sunny clenched his fists.

'The seal… it's lifted!'

...The Saint had arrived.