Sunny cursed when he looked at the setting sun.
He was quite drenched in blood, but most of it wasn't his own. It was kind of easy to guess, as it was of a disgusting black. No, the problem was that he was going to be late for his meeting with Nephis at the headquarters.
Well, he hadn't expected that Fallen Demon to be still standing!
The creatures, Sunny supposed, was the older cousin of the Blood Fiends, only even nastier and deadlier. In front of him was an ancient skeleton, grey-purple skin still attached to the bones in patches. The bones were cracked, by both blows of passed battles and that of a treacherous shadow, some even completely broken, their splintered edges whiter. Black blood was oozing from the shrivelled fresh that hanged from the more conservated bones. The figure was taller than two meters, making for an eerie apparition in the red light of the approaching darkness. Sunny could see the darkness inside the gaping holes in the three-eyed skull, hiding three Ascended Shards..
However, the True Darkness nestled in the creature's chest, shielded by once-indestructible ribs. Now they were barely holding on, weakened by centuries of gruesome battles and the passage of time.
Sunny stared at the battered beast, and considered ordering Serpent to transform into a giant snake and finish it off. He sighed. No, using Serpent to avoid every inconvenience wouldn't do.
He made no cry of fury when he sprinted towards the monster, augmented by four shadows. Even that was not enough to grant him an edge in speed nor strength. The skeleton met his challenge head on, one of the blades he had as arms slashing towards his head. Sunny ducked and put all of his mighty into the counter, hitting the side of the monster's arm. Finally, it gave away with a satisfying crunch. Sunny had been chipping at the same spot for more than a couple exchanges, now.
He had taken inspiration from Neph, who had done the same during their first meeting-duel as the Lord of Shadows.
The Demon had been fighting to protect his abdomen, but losing one of his limbs had sent him in a fit of rage.
Serpent transformed back into a tattoo, but his shadows slithered off him.
The skeleton unbalanced itself to slash at him, but a loud crash to his right made him turn sharply towards the source of the noise, further losing its equilibrium. Noise meant there was something. And things were dangerous, here in the Dark City.
Distracted and unsteady, the monster didn't react in time to avoid the mountain that emerged from the multiple shadows at its feet. Saint, strengthened by four shadows, rammed her shield into the jaw of the monster, breaking the skull and lifting it off the ground. In the same motion, the stone knight plunged her sword in the mass of darkness inside its chest.
[You have slain a Fallen Demon, Remnant of a Corpse]
[Your shadow grows stronger…]
The skeleton let out a silence screech, then fell apart like a castle made of cards in the wind. Kind of reminded Sunny of Condemnation. Despite the destruction of the skeleton, the True Darkness lingered on Saint's blade, before suddenly surging towards the warrior's ruby eyes. It enveloped her head, before seeping into her skin.
Sunny looked at her, not much worried. After all, it wasn't the first time he had seen it happen. The Fallen Knight and the Heart Of Darkness had both made her raise in Class. Saint hadn't evolved, but her presence felt stronger. It seems he'd have to face some creatures born of Darkness in the future…
"Good Job, Saint. You too, Rock!" He dismissed them. He had used the magnificent rock to create that loud sound in the fight.
Then, he approached the skull. It was missing the lower half, destroyed by Saint's blow. It was staring at Sunny accusingly.
"What!? I said I wouldn't use abuse Serpent, I never mentioned Saint."
He grimaced. 'Why am I even justifying myself to a skull? That baster Eurys rubbed off on me.'
He lowered himself to the ground and put the Shards in his bag. He looked at the sky. He maybe had half a hour before the meeting.
It was time to meet Nephis. And he had to hurry, lest he be late!
The sun had just settled behind the horizon when he arrived at the outskirts. He surveyed the area, looking for a charming archer. He could recognize Kai with his shadow sense, even if he were disguised.
He didn't need to. There was a figure in the middle of the plaza, wearing a red cloak. A red cloak! Who the hell wore a red clock, except Valor?
Sunny walked up to him, grabbing his arm.
"It thought I told you not to draw attention to yourself."
Kai startled, but calmed down when he saw who it was. His questioning gaze made Sunny sigh.
"I am?"
Sunny shook his head, exhausted.
"Let's just go. You can give me the Memory later."
He led the archer to the headquarters. They were empty.
"Uh, Sunny, what are we doing here? Isn't this where…"
"We are attending a secret meeting. You're going to tell me who's lying, ok?"
Kai blinked, confused. He still agreed, though. "Ok."
"Follow me."
Sunny moved to the free corner of the room, and lifted the carpet. Ladders were revealed by his gesture.
He began to descend, leaving a gaping Kai behind, who took a few second to follow.
Sunny's feet touched the ground after a couple of moments, and three pair of eyes pierced him. Well, two, to be precise, but Sunny didn't discriminate!
The space he entered was something that hadn't existed in the original timeline. It was Sunny who had had the idea to build a secret room where they could plan or talk undisturbed. He had had Nephis get from Caster that Memory of his, which could create a space where they couldn't be heard from the outside, in exchange for an Awakened Memory of the IV Tier. While, form an outsider's point, it was a great offer, it would also enable Nephis to have meeting without the scion's presence. Of course, the proudful Legacy had recognised that. Perhaps he thought it was Nephis' intention, perhaps he thought it was just a coincidence. Either way, he could reject the offer: he couldn't fall off the Daughter of the Immortal Flame's grace.
Thus, the flute was now permanently placed in the underground space, not letting any kind of noise through.
Kai landed beside him.
The two gazes able to actually see widened.
In the middle of the room there were six chairs, arranged in a circle, surrounding a table.
At the moment, only three were occupied. Nephis was sitting on one, Cassie next to her.
In front of her was an exquisite beauty. She was a decade older than them, her grey skin giving her an exotic charm.
"Sorry I'm late, Lady Seishan."