The connection Shun felt grew stronger, closer. He glanced at Dharma, but the old man seemed unconcerned, lazily twirling his scythe.
Boom!
Without warning, shadows erupted from the sand beneath them, figures wielding ethereal arms encircling Shun and Dharma in an instant. The ambush had arrived.
Dharma grinned, and with a casual flick of his wrist, hurled his scythe at the nearest foe. The target didn't even attempt to block the attack. The blade of the scythe sliced through the man's skull with a sickening crunch. Dharma leapt forward, yanking his scythe free, his silvery hair streaming behind him like a comet's tail.
Shun watched closely, a realization dawning on him: it wasn't that Dharma was overwhelmingly strong; his opponents seemed to weaken the moment they engaged him. Before he could process this strange observation further, a barrage of energy beams was unleashed, heading straight for him.
In an instant, Shun's body dissipated, merging into a shadowy mist. Under the dying light of the sunset, Boundless Gloom activated in all its sinister glory. But with the battleground so flat and exposed, he had no vantage point for an immediate counterattack.
He slithered across the ground, seeking a safer position as Dharma's maniacal laughter filled the air. Shun glanced back just in time to see a crimson blur tear through the enemies. Bodies flew in every direction, leaving a trail of carnage in its wake.
He yearned to assist, to prove his worth in this battle, but Frenzied Dreams was too unpredictable—dangerous even to his allies. A selfish weapon that twisted reality to suit itself.
Suddenly, a flicker of danger spiked from behind.
Shun spun around, but Dharma was faster. His scythe intercepted the attack, clashing against a masked man who wielded a reinforced arm covered in metal, supported by eight mechanical spider legs that kept him firmly anchored to the ground.
"Dharma Leyndra!" the man spat, surprise flashing in his eyes.
Dharma smirked, pushing his scythe forward with a surge of strength. The man stumbled back but quickly regained balance, his spider legs absorbing the impact.
"Vivid Nollen…" Dharma's voice dripped with derision. "hehahaha, still clinging to old grudges, are we?"
Vivid's expression twisted with fury. "You killed my father..."
Dharma let out a wild laugh. "I simply freed him from his miserable existence."
Vivid roared in response, leaping into the air with tremendous force. A massive spider web descended from the sky, intent on trapping them both. But before it could reach them, shadowy tendrils emerged from the ground, slicing the web in half. The web's shadow had given Boundless Gloom all it needed to strike.
Before the dust settled, three more figures burst from the sand, though they seemed disinterested in combat.
"Vivid, you can't win this," said a woman with golden hair, her voice calm but firm. She was flanked by a spiky-haired man adjusting his glasses and another woman with a high, elegant ponytail.
Dharma eyed the trio, his grin widening. "Well, well. A rare sight indeed—four Blackguards standing together, playing nice."
Vivid scowled as he landed, his gaze shifting warily between them. "I know your tricks, Dharma. Your ethereal arm won't work on me."
Dharma shrugged dismissively. "If my opponent is you, Vivid Nollen, then I don't need to rely on its effects."
The golden-haired woman—Danica, by Shun's deduction—shook her head. "Mister Leyndra, forgive Vivid's outburst. His men were the ones you killed, so if anyone deserves your ire, it's him."
The man with the spiked hair—undoubtedly Hugo Goldsmith—adjusted his glasses with a sneer. "Danica, don't assume authority. You're not our leader, I won't hesitate to kill you and return to my old life as a scoundrel."
Alice Clayton, the woman with the ponytail, sighed. "Let's not break this fragile alliance so soon. Danica's plan benefits all of us, after all."
"As long as it serves me, I don't care who's giving orders."
Dharma's scythe dissipated as he raised his hands in mock surrender. "How intriguing—since when did the infamous Blackguards become such close comrades? Weren't you all enemies not so long ago?"
Danica bowed slightly, her demeanour regal, nothing like the banished scoundrel she was reputed to be. "We are not friends, Mister Leyndra. Merely united by a common enemy."
"And I suspect," she added, her gaze steady, "you hate him more than all of us combined."
Dharma's laughter exploded once again, wild and unrestrained. The others stood in silence, waiting for him to regain his composure.
"Hate? You'll have to be more specific, girl. I have a long list of people I despise."
Danica's smile remained steady. "What about the man who caused all this?"
Dharma's face lit up, his smile morphing into a sinister grin. "Nathaniel Heaven."
"Is that what you truly believe?" Danica's clapping hands punctuated her words. "Have you forgotten the real truth?"
Dharma's smile faltered, replaced by a look of intense curiosity. "You know the truth?"
"Danica, who are you?" Dharma's voice carried a commanding tone.
Danica's grin widened. "I am Danica Amnir, daughter of Duncan Amnir and sister to the rebellious Lord Daniel Amnir."
Shun and Dharma exchanged a glance. The Amnir family had been pardoned by the Crusader King for Duncan's contributions to the war, but they were often viewed as inferior and rebellious, their situation difficult to understand from the outside.
"The reason for our banishment, the suppression of historical truths, and my brother's rebellion," Danica continued.
"The one who caused all this is Alfred Eldran."
Unfazed by Shun's astonished gaze, she pressed on. "Alfred Eldran, having been appointed as a successor, secured the throne long ago."
"He had a glorious past and a promising future, but one thing troubled him," Danica's voice took on a darker tone.
The realization hit Shun, Dharma, and the others simultaneously. "Albert Eldran's mute."
Danica nodded, her voice rising. "Eriq Ranborg claimed the mute was incurable, but that wasn't entirely true."
"In reality, he was the only one who could potentially cure him, though it came with a heavy price. Eriq Ranborg's 73rd ethereal arm, Lifeblood Transmitor, was never a healing type ethereal arm."
"People believed it could transfer life energy to heal from within, ignoring all damage. But no one considered where that life energy originated."
"The way to replenish life energy was by extracting it from a corpse."
"Albert's mute was a powerful curse, cast upon the son of the most shameless ethereal warrior."
"Alfred Eldran's 1st ethereal arm, Manipulator, was also not what people believed."
Shun stared at Danica, suspicion evident. Elysia Eukanorn had witnessed the ability firsthand; words may be wrong, but memories never lie.
Danica met his gaze with unflinching resolve. "Its true ability is to alter people's memories."