They managed to reach the ruin before the ancient dead rose from beneath the sand. The structure they used as shelter was palatial and vast, isolated from the desert by a wide field of black glass. It didn't seem like a building that people were supposed to live in, though.

After observing many ruins across the desert, Sunny was starting to feel as though there was a reason why all of them were so strange, broken, and deformed. It was almost as if these structures had not been built here... but had instead fallen from the sky and shattered after hitting the white sands.

Then again, the Nightmare Desert might not have been a desert in ancient times. Rolling dunes like these were usually left behind by dying seas. If the vast expanse of white sand had once been the bottom of an ocean... then maybe the structures had not fallen, but instead drowned.

Why would Ariel build his pyramid at the bottom of a sea?

Sunny shook his head.

'No... the description of the Mirror of Truth did not mention any seas or oceans.'

There was a lot of talk about rivers in the description of other Memories he had received during the Chain of Nightmares. But what river could have been so vast?

The spacious hall the survivors had sought shelter in was illuminated by the light of a small fire. Beastmaster was roasting monster meat above it... she seemed relaxed and amiable, but everyone else was terribly tense.

That was because the bewitching Saint was perhaps no less dangerous than the apocalyptic battle going on outside.

Now that they had escaped the Gate Guardian, at least for a few hours, everyone became painfully aware that being in her presence was an insidiously terrifying experience. Beastmaster could subtly take hold of anyone's mind, after all, to enthrall or drive them mad.

Perhaps she already had.

Sunny was uneasy, but Summer Knight was more tense than the others - if there was one reason for the beautiful demoness to warp the minds of the survivors, it was to kill him and get rid of daughters of Valor.

As if reading his thoughts, Beastmaster smiled.

"Gods. Can you stop drilling a hole in my forehead, Gilead? I know I am pretty... but still, a knight like you should have some manners. Stop staring."

Summer Knight continued looking in her direction, unperturbed.

"...Were pretty. Have you looked in the mirror recently?"

Beastmaster looked up at him, blinked a couple of times, then traced the bleeding wound running across her face with a delicate finger.

"Oh, that thing? Ah, it refuses to heal. Whispering Blade left me with that present... before he died. Miserably. It's too bad that you couldn't protect your liege, isn't it, Gilead?"

Summer Knight's expression darkened. Morgan, who was sitting beside him, looked at the beautiful Saint coldly. Her vermilion eyes were burning with fury.

"You vile witch..."

Beastmaster laughed.

"Come on! Don't be so serious. Look, the food is ready. Let's eat."

She smiled brightly, and although her face was disfigured by the ugly torn wound, that smile made something stir in Sunny's heart.

'That woman... is lethally dangerous. And completely crazy. I really... really don't want to have anything to do with her.'

His mind was telling him one thing, but his emotions refused to listen. He had to remind himself of the Corrupted Tyrant the beautiful demoness had arranged to be unleashed in the middle of a siege capital, and only came to his senses then.

Contempt. That was all Sunny was supposed to feel toward Beastmaster.

...Still, he wasn't going to refuse food.

Coming closer, Sunny took his portion of the meat, then sat down and hungrily bit into it. The tantalizing Saint gave him a curious look.

"Little brother... how are you still alive?"

Sunny frowned, then looked at himself. The black silk of the Shroud of Dusk was ripped open, and his entire side resembled minced meat. He had set the arm that had been dislocated, but his face was still covered in dried blood. At least the internal damage he had received seemed to have healed to some extent - he could breathe, and there was no bloody foam on his lips anymore.

Sunny shrugged.

"I don't bleed easily."

Beastmaster's smile widened a little.

"How interesting."

With that, she handed the others some food and moved over to feed Seishan, who still couldn't move her hands. The sight of the two of them being so... tender and sisterly with each other felt weird, for some reason.

Everyone was too exhausted to have an appetite, but they still forced themselves to eat. Right now, food was fuel, and all of them were running low on it.

As they consumed the fragrant meat, Nephis suddenly moved and opened her eyes. There was an empty void in them, but slowly, arduously, a spark of humanity returned, and she turned her head, looking at the silhouettes of the humans sitting in front of the fire.

Sunny glanced in her direction, then turned his attention back to the food and sent a mental message:

[It's night. We're in a large ruin. The vessels of the Gate Guardian are gone - you killed one, Beastmaster and Summer Knight killed the other. Cassie led them to us just in time.]

He thought for a moment, and added:

[Oh. Also, you should probably summon an armor Memory.]

Nephis stared at him for a bit, then moved slightly beneath the seawave cloak and closed her eyes. A few seconds later, a flurry of sparks surrounded her body, and she rose. Her slender figure was wrapped in a fitting black material, which Sunny recognized as the inner layer of the Starlight Legion Armor with a bit of surprise.

Nephis swayed a little, then slowly walked over to the fire and sat down. He handed her the Endless Spring, while Cassie offered her a portion of roasted meat.

Neph drank deeply from the beautiful glass bottle, then took the meat and looked silently at Morgan and Sir Gilead.

Summer Knight offered her a tired smile.

"Lady Changing Star, you are awake. Thank the gods."

There was a strange strain in her voice.

Morgan looked between the two, then shook her head.

"Well, now... the two of you are making me feel bad."

Nephis silently sank her teeth into the juicy meat, her expression neutral.

...Sunny's, however, was not.

'So that's how it is.'

He had learned everything he needed to know from that short exchange. © 2024.

'Sir Gilead can only take one person back with him.'