Third POV:
After a night's rest. The cohort ventured into the mountain range.
Armed with the understanding of just how dangerous the beautiful mountains towering above them were, the cohort set out deeper into the foothills. Because they didn't know much about the area and what type of creatures populated it, they decided to stay together.
While it would have been much easier to send Kai to take a look around from above, no one wanted to take this risk. As a result, the six humans moved in a tight group, much like they had on the narrow streets of the Dark City and in the Labyrinth.
Reaching the quarry, Sunny finally encountered a familiar sight. At the bottom of the quarry, there was a giant Nightmare Creature.
The abomination was enormous, easily twice the size of the Carapace Demon... who had already been as tall as a house. It looked like a strange insect, somewhat resembling a weird mix of a rhinoceros beetle and a praying mantis, with a smooth carapace, massive horn, and deadly blades attached to the joints of its limbs.
The whole creature seemed to be made out of stone and was the same color as the floor of the quarry. In fact, if not for Effie's warning, the cohort might have not even noticed it.
...That flesh, however, was broken and shattered, lying in piles on the ground.
The giant stone demon was dead.
And from the looks of it, it died by a human hand.
After a while, the cohort confirmed that the creature was slain by the hands of a human.
Sunny's discovery of the missing shards was solid enough proof of the fact that it was indeed the First Lord's cohort that had battled and slain the terrifying creature.
They had really found the signs of the lost expedition.
But there was another proof for this conclusion, this one irrefutable.
Nephis, who had wandered away from the remains of the demon at some point, suddenly called them over.
The members of the cohort glanced at each other, then slowly approached her, trying to understand what was it that she had found.
Changing Star was standing near one of the piles of rocks that were littering the ground around the body of the dead creature, looking at it with a solemn expression. Most of them came from its shattered carapace, while some were created because the floor of the quarry was broken apart and churned during the ferocious battle.
Why was Nephis so interested in that one in particular?
That's what the Cohort thought. Looking closer, The cohort finally realized that this pile of rocks was different from all others. It was lower, roughly oval in shape, its contour too perfect to be the result of a pure coincidence.
It seemed as though each rock was painstakingly placed here by a human hand, perhaps in hopes of making the pile as orderly and sturdy as possible.
Suddenly, a cold shiver ran down Sunny's spine. He finally realized what he was looking at.
This was not really a pile of rocks.
It was a grave.
Standing around the cairn, the members of the cohort looked at it with somber expressions — except for Cassie, who turned away and faced the mountainside, as though trying to hide her emotions.
Now that they knew what they were looking at, their mood suddenly became forlorn and solemn. People stranded on the Forgotten Shore were well acquainted with death and tragedy, but finding this lonely grave so far away from any place where another human could find it, lost under the alien grey sky of the Dream Realm, was still a poignant revelation.
None of them had ever met the Dreamers of the first cohort, but after living in the shadow of their legendary achievements and hearing stories of their deeds for so long, it felt as though this grave belonged to one of their own.
Because of how bleak and tense the reality of the Bright Castle was, it was easy to forget that in this cursed world, all of them were fellow humans. But in front of the quiet grave, the truth was stark and cutting: it was them alone against the endless tide of Nightmare Creatures, and every human life lost diminished them all.
'It must have been hard on them…'
Sunny with a solemn expression, kneeled down beside the grave, and muttered softly:
"Your nightmare is over"
'Find Solace within me.'
With a heavy heart, Sunny silently repeated it several times. It was strange how much meaning could be expressed with so few words. They echoed in his mind and lingered there, leaving a deep and gashed-out mournful scar.
'...Rest in peace, whoever you are. I hope that your dreams are sweet and serene now.'
With that, he turned away and gritted his teeth.
The doom of their own world resurfaced in his mind.
When would ours be over too?
Was that even possible?
As for Sunny
His cohort has already met its end once.
What would make this round any different?
He almost met his end too..
But here I am….aren't I?
His mind was filled with nothing but dark thoughts.
Noticing the dark look on his face Nephis's hand gently stroked his shoulder, reassuring him.
He gave her a weak smile.
The other members of the cohort were slowly coming back from their sudden reverie. Kai sighed and looked at Changing Star, his face full of sadness.
"I guess... I guess this is what we've been looking for. The First Lord and his expedition definitely passed this way. But what now?"
Nephis threw a last glance at the grave and turned to face the charming archer.
"There should be an entrance to an old mine somewhere nearby. From what Cassie had seen, this is where they went."
Turning his head, Sunny looked at Cassie, who was still silently standing a few steps away from them, her head turned to the mountains.
At first, It seemed as though the blind girl was enjoying the sight of white mist that was flowing down the mountain slope, slowly approaching the valley.
But now he knew better.
The Mist.
No matter how many times Sunny has ventured into the Hollow Mountains in his exploration and guiding career in the past….the future, he was unable to determine the true nature of the mist.
He had a hunch that it was an extremely powerful nightmare creature just like the dark sea more or less. His hunch was also based on the Mirror Reflections that The prince of Valor had made during his second Nightmare at the Kingdom of Hope with them.
Turning his attention back to the blind girl his eyes darkened.
She had been awfully quiet all this time.
With an ominous feeling gripping his heart, Sunny gestured to Nephis to draw her attention toward the mountain.
Nephis also had a good intuition, so she immediately noticed that something was wrong.
Changing Star frowned, then followed his gaze toward the mist and slightly turned to face Cassie.
Walking over to her friend, she carefully placed her hand on the blind girl's shoulder. Instantly, Cassie flinched at turned around, her face pale.
"...Cassie? Did you see something?"
There was an expression of terror written on the blind girl's face. For a few moments, she just breathed heavily, as though trying to control herself. Finally, she spoke, her voice quiet but steady:
"The mist... we must get underground before the mist comes. If not, all of us will die!"
Nephis didn't waste any time questioning Cassie further. Turning around, she shouted:
"Sunny, Night! Find the entrance to the mine, quick!"
A moment later, Kai rose into the air and dashed toward the giant amphitheater on the opposite side of the quarry.
Despite the urgency of the situation, Sunny remained calm.
'There is a reason why we haven't met a single living creature in this place, after all.'
The Mist
Even before learning about how dangerous these peaks were in the previous round, he had already known that no land that the crimson coral was incapable of growing on could be safe.
"Caster, Effie! Prepare to move as soon as the scouts find anything!"
Glancing at the white wall of mist that was already starting to seep into the valley, Nephis lingered for a moment, then summoned her sword. Behind her, Cassie rose slightly above the ground and unsheathed the Quiet Dancer, holding the elegant rapier in her left hand.
Two transparent wings turned into a blur behind her back.
Looking at them, Sunny sighed and walked over to stand near Nephis.
"I Found it."
Sunny calmly declared.
The shadow and Kai found the entrance to the mine almost simultaneously. A tall archway was cut right into the side of the mountain, with false columns carved into the rock around it. The mouth of the tunnel was dark and ominous.
There was a twisting path leading away from the mine into the quarry. Even though he already knew its location and had found it relatively easier than the last time, Sunny still couldn't see where it exited the maze of stone blocks through his shadow, but was sure that Kai would see it from above.
Opening his eyes, he noticed that the wall of mist was now looming above them, mere seconds from falling down into the quarry, and said:
"Follow me!"
With that, he ran toward the general direction of where the mine was situated. The others ran behind him, exerting as much speed as they could manage — except for Caster, of course.
Halfway to the wall of the quarry, Kai landed near them and gestured to a barely visible opening between the stone steps.
"There! Hurry!"
They entered the hidden path and ran as fast as they could, soon approaching the wide tunnel.
At the very edge of darkness, Sunny stopped for a second and looked back at the swiftly approaching wall of mist.
As he gazed into the milky fog, a cold and heavy feeling of dread suddenly grasped his heart.
Not wasting any more time, he turned around and dove into the shadows.
A few moments later, the mist swirled around the entrance of the tunnel and devoured the rest of the world.
Leaving the mouth of the tunnel and the swirling white mist behind, the cohort cautiously went further into the darkness. As they walked, they summoned the Memories that produced light to illuminate the way.
The tunnel leading into the mine was wide and spacious. Despite the ruthless flow of time, it had remained in perfect condition — just like the ancient wall that surrounded the Dark City. The floor was inclined and led down, deep into the belly of the mountain.
Sunny sighed, no one would be happy with the idea that they had to travel further into this deadly region of the Dream Realm.
'Maybe the horrors of Neph's nightmare were still looming somewhere down within the darkness, Who knows?'
Who knew what the horrors lived in the darkness at the roots of the Hollow Mountains even were? The only thing that consoled him was that the cohort would not have to go too far.
And With his experience with the True darkness…Sunny thought that he should add one more phobia to his list.
He wasn't comfortable even in the slightest despite knowing that they would survive.
And the fact that They would just need to find the remains of the doomed expedition that had disappeared somewhere down below just like the previous round.
He wasn't entirely comfortable hoping that those people had died sooner rather than later, but they were dead either way.
Although Sunny liked the fact that nothing had drastically changed from what he remembered and that everything was going smoothly. The fact that his [Fated] Attribute didn't seem to make a move was gnawing at his nerves.
'Who knows what that damned thing was scheming or rather weaving for me?
Sunny shook his head
What Sunny cared about the most was for him and his companions to not follow suit the first lord's path.
Walking to the back of the party, he glanced at the five people in front of him.
He had faith in them of course.
They were the ones who succeeded in escaping this hell hole in the first place where the First Lord's cohort failed. But he couldn't help but wonder.
His Cohort had traces to follow and their foundation was set and ready thanks to the first Lord's sacrifice. But the First Lord's cohort didn't have any of that.
So he couldn't help but compare. How did Changing Star's cohort stack against that of the First Lord? Were they weaker, stronger, or just about the same?
His brow furrowed.
Regarding Nephis herself, There was no chance that the young man who had led a group of Sleepers to conquer the Bright Castle could have been more powerful or driven than her, at least not at the start. However, he had much more time to accumulate power and resources before venturing into the Hollow Mountains to find his death.
Fifteen years ago, when he had entered the Dream Realm and got stranded on the Forgotten Shore, things were much different from now. The Immortal Flame clan was yet to fall, for one. In fact, it was not long after Broken Sword, Neph's father, had become the first human to conquer the Third Nightmare and achieve the rank of Saint.
Would the world be different if the First Lord managed to find the way out and returned to reality? Yes, most likely. If the era of the Nightmare Spell had shown anything to humanity, it was that history was often changed by individuals, as opposed to events and invisible currents. The influence one extraordinary person could exert on history in a time of adversity was hard to deny.
From everything that Sunny knew about the First Lord, a man like him could have done a lot to improve the position humanity was in. What a shame that he had perished in this godforsaken hell, the story of his incredible deeds known only to a handful of people as unfortunate as him.
But how many were there of such brilliant youths, killed before their time by the Nightmare Spell?
In the end, history was not written by the best, but by those who survived.
Each member of the cohort was incredibly strong. Just like Nephis was at least an equal to the First Lord, her companions were most likely equal to his.
Because of Effie's light-hearted and carefree demeanor, it was easy to forget how fearsome of a warrior she was. The huntress had not survived three years of stalking monsters on the cursed streets of the Dark City alone by accident. Hundreds upon hundreds of vicious Nightmare Creatures fell by her hand.
As much as Sunny hated to admit it, Caster was a true powerhouse among the Sleepers, too. His incredible Aspect Ability, outstanding skill, cold intelligence, and the wide arsenal of inherited Memories made him a deadly threat to anyone foolish enough to become his enemy.
'What a waste.'
Kai was not as ferocious of a fighter as the core members of the cohort, but his ability to fly coupled with the mastery of the bow and the Ascended arrow that Sunny had given him made him a real menace in a battle, too.
Cassie was not much of a fighter, but her gift was arguably more important than any combat Aspect Ability could ever be. Especially so on the Forgotten Shore, where inconceivable dangers lurked under each rock.
...And now they have Sunny himself.
An Awakened within their forces who also knew the future.
And the strongest Awakened at that.
Sunny was, the deadliest of them all. If he wanted to, he could have killed every member of the cohort twice over.
But why would he?
He can take them all by himself if he wants to of course.
But why would he?
His goals were to nurture them, strengthen them, and gradually increase their chances of survival.
…..and Stop Nephis from staying behind and sacrificing herself for his sake no matter what.
***
As they walked deeper into the mine, more tunnels were forking away from the main one. The cohort turned a few times, choosing the path that led further down underground.
Soon, the walls surrounding them changed. More and more, they were decorated with the intricate stone carvings that the inhabitants of the ancient city had loved so much.
At first, these carvings were strictly decorative and mostly senseless, shaped into beautiful patterns of lines and simple images. But then, slowly, something about them changed.
Sunny was, perhaps, the only one who paid attention to the carvings. Due to his passion for learning the history of this ancient civilization, he had spent a lot of time doing the same back in the Dark City, where there were a lot of similar things.
He was still planning to clear the floor of the ruined library of rubble and study the vast fresco that was hidden beneath again —this time with the knowledge he gained from the future- he would be able to draw a clearer picture of the history of the dream realm
However, the condition of the carvings back in the ancient city was mostly terrible. The Doom War that had wiped out its inhabitants, the passage of time, and the Nightmare Creatures left most of them in ruins.
Here in the remote mine, however, the carvings were preserved in pristine condition.
When Sunny finally saw what was depicted on them, his breath became faster.
Without waiting much longer, Sunny started to explain what he knew about the history of the forgotten shore using the engravings while slightly filling the gaps with what he knew and kept the things that needed more details to himself.
The answers to many questions that were tormenting his cohort were right there, carved into these walls.
And Sunny answered it wholeheartedly.
Depicted on the ancient engravings, a beautiful land was bathed in sunlight. Lush forests, glistening rivers, and fields of flowers surrounded human cities built of stone. From what Sunny told them, this was the Forgotten Shore before the mysterious and terrifying curse had turned it into the desolate hell it was today.
"The all-consuming Darkness."
At that point, the cohort felt a cold shiver running down their spine and couldn't help but tremble.
Not because he was affected by the tragic disaster that had befallen these ancient people.
But because it all seemed so terrifyingly familiar.
The details might not have been the same, but the end result was eerily similar to what was happening in the real world right now.
A curse that suddenly appeared and spread across the entire world. The horrible monsters that came from nowhere to attack settlements and devour humans. The champions who had taken charge of defending their kind from the abominable creatures. And the fact that some humans had begun turning into those creatures themselves.
Was it not the same as the Nightmare Spell spreading like a plague across the globe, the Nightmare Creatures coming through the Gates, the Awakened rising to fight against them, and the unfortunate soles who failed their First Nightmare transforming into monstrous abominations?
The only difference was that the story of the civilization of the Forgotten Shore was already over. Eventually, the curse had destroyed it. The people of their own world, however, were still trying to resist such fate.
As Sunny continued his tale the face of his cohort turned from shook to bewilderment to astonishment to pity.
Sometime later, they entered a wide circular hall. In the center of it, a dark chasm opened into the depths of the mountains, leading so far down that Sunny couldn't even see its bottom.
Sunny Shivered.
'I am technically the supposed-to-be adult, right? Consider my mental age. So why am I shivering like this?'
But again, if the mental age was the scale then I should be a few thousand years old right?
Sunny chuckled slightly.
The cohort gave him a weird look but didn't say anything.
"We are going down aren't we Neph?"
Instead of answering, she simply summoned the golden rope and shrugged.
He shook his head.
Why would he even bother asking….he already knew.
Was it because he was….slightly feeling uncomfortable?
Sunny didn't know.
With that, he sent his shadow down the wall of the endless shaft. The shadow wasn't very ecstatic at the prospect of gliding down into the depths of the scary well, though. Giving Sunny a resentful glare, it sighed and dove down with visible reluctance.
Well, at least his Gloomy shadow still hated this place too so he wasn't alone.
A few minutes later, the shadow reached as far down as the bottom of the mine. And there were no primordial horrors in its sight.
Sunny summoned the Dark Wing and gave the members of the cohort a nod.
"We can proceed. Be ready, though. Who knows what might happen?"