The rest of the Silvermane Guards returned to their posts, allowing for only the four of them to enter Qlipoth Fort. It made sense, as space would easily start to run out if such a large group walked through the halls.
March's eyes traced the interior walls of Qlipoth Fort as the group walked to the Supreme Guardian's office. Pictured of what seemed to be previous holders of the coveted position were placed in an orderly fashion — showing respect towards the former leaders of Belobog.
'Bah! It's just a whole bunch of relics.'
A few minutes ago, she might have actually been interested in the paintings — of course, not as much as a nerd like Dan Heng. Even so, she was a naturally curious young woman!
Now though, she had a somewhat biased view against the Supreme Guardians. Mainly because a certain midget thought it would be funny to debunk her completely harmless theory!
At first, she had really thought that it might have made sense! After all, she had no memories from before she had been found by the Astral Express.
Of course, she had lied to Sunny about her flaw. March had simply thought that it would be easier to brush off her amnesia as a flaw, so was it really lying? It was just a little wordplay!
Thankfully, Dan Heng had played along with her little act, pretending as if he was exasperated by the fact that she had exposed herself.
As someone who had to survive in the Dream Realm as a mere Sleeper, she knew how important it was to keep such a major weakness to herself. Although the other members of the Express knew about it out of necessity, she couldn't exactly tell Sunny about it.
The reason was simple: Sunny was too much of a nutjob!
March didn't have anything against him. Based on the popular movie that portrayed the events of the Forgotten Shore — Absence of Light — the Prince of Shadows was known to have a kindhearted, yet roguish personality.
March generally agreed with this description. Although, the "kindhearted" part was a bit of a stretch…
Anyways, the reason for why she couldn't tell him her flaw even after joining the Express was really just a matter of trust.
That wasn't to say that March didn't trust him. Rather, Sunny didn't trust her… or anyone else for that matter.
'Seriously… doesn't fighting a Doomsday Beast together make us as tight as… um… something?"
Failed simile out of the way, Sunny seemed to be keeping a distance from basically everyone else. If she had told him about her flaw, he'd most likely get a little feral due to a breach of privacy.
'And he thinks that I used to eat rocks as a kid? This idiot acts like he's the king of the world!'
When Sunny suddenly looked in her direction in confusion, March realized that she had been staring at him during her little monologue. Face reddening in embarrassment, she looked away to find something else to catch her interest.
'Crap… what if he sics the Shadow Casters on me?'
March almost forgot that Sunny had his own private militia full of lunatics. It completely consisted of Forgotten Shore survivors who had decided to follow Sunny. From rumors that she had heard, these guys were a rambunctious ragtag group of misfits.
Supposedly, the name was meant to be a play on words. Essentially, they would cast a shadow that served their prince… or something stupid like that.
It was also related to a member of his cohort, as his name was literally a part of it. However, he was the only one of the survivors to never have left the Forgotten Shore. According to various articles and testaments from the survivors of that accursed place, the only one who would have any idea was Sunny himself.
Unfortunately, nobody in the real world was able to locate him. The only proof of his survival was his sudden appearance in the Chained Isles. For this to have been possible, Sky Tide had to have met him in the real world, bringing him to her Citadel using the strengthened connection Saints had to the Dream Realm.
March wasn't quite sure how nobody noticed a Saint walking around, but what did she know? Maybe Sky Tide had some sort of assassination skill set.
In any case, the paparazzi didn't have a clear way to get a hold of him. If they did, he would definitely have been hounded by microphones and cameras.
'More likely, he'd just disappear into the shadows.'
Back to the topic that was at hand before she got sidetracked, she didn't want to tell him her flaw simply because of his personality. That was also the only reason that she didn't ask for his own flaw. It would be pretty rude to ask him that without telling him about her real flaw.
Well, he'd probably just not tell her his flaw. From the short amount of time she had spent around him, March concluded that it was probably the most likely possibility.
As she looked for something else to draw her attention, March suddenly noticed something that almost made her trip.
'Wha— how did I not see that earlier!'
When she had duked it out with Gepard during their little misunderstanding, she had delivered a heavy kick to his arm, causing it to fracture. Normally, such a quick should have broken his arm, but March brushed it off as a fluke.
Naturally, his arm was in a pretty weird position, and he couldn't really use it.
Now though, his arm seemed to be functioning completely fine as it held onto that ridiculously large shield he had.
'…Why hasn't he dismissed it?'
Indeed, it was strange. It wasn't common for an Awakened to not have a weapon Memory, as the Nightmare Spell typically grants one as early as possible. If the shield was a Memory, it would only make sense to dismiss it when there wasn't any use.
'Is Gepard still suspicious of us?'
The thought left a sour taste in March's mouth. They had gone through so much trouble just to get here, and he was still suspicious?!
Suddenly, Sunny walked towards March's direction, mumbling a quick apology to Gepard as he brushed past him. Once he had reached her side, he whispered in a low tone; much lower than he had previously.
"That was a good catch. The shield is just a mundane object."
March blinked. It seemed that Sunny was looking at her line of sight. However, wasn't his Aspect related to shadows? How would he be able to differentiate a Memory and a mundane object without testing it himself?
"How did you find that out?"
Sunny shrugged, giving her an extremely vague answer.
"I just touched it. Then, I looked at it."
March's gaze lingered on him for a second, before huffing at his dry response.
"Fine, be that way!"
She'd probably find out on her own, whether either of them liked it or not.
***
Sunny silently enjoyed her annoyed expression. Honestly, it was really too easy.
When March had averted her gaze after being caught staring, Sunny kept looking in her direction just to embarrass her a bit more. Luckily, she seemed to have noticed the inconsistencies about Gepard: both the injured arm and the mundane shield.
The former would normally take around a day for the average Awakened to heal from, while the latter simply wouldn't make sense for one who constantly battled Nightmare Creatures.
The Nightmare Spell generally granted Memories often enough that it would be extremely difficult to never get a weapon, even for those who aren't mainly combatants.
The armor was definitely a Memory, but it didn't seem like he had any other on him. If he did, it wouldn't make sense to use a mundane shield.
Nobody could possibly be so unlucky that they couldn't get a mere weapon Memory, which was the most common type.
Filing away this unusualness for later, Sunny whispered something else into March's ear. After a combination of hushed sounds, the duo seperated.
March called out to Gepard to get his attention, causing him to look back.
"Um… is your arm okay?"
He seemed confused for a moment, before a look of realization flashed across his face.
"Ah, yes. My Awakened Ability let's me restore my bones, so I'm quite used to getting them broken. Although, it does take awhile…"
That didn't quite explain how his arm didn't completely snap like a twig, but it was still a good amount of information. Learning the Aspects of one of Belobog's strongest — if not the strongest combatant was very important.
Sampo is a fugitive, so he doesn't count.
At some point, the winding halls halted. In front of the group was a massive set of swinging doors, practically reaching the ceiling of Qlipoth Fort. Sunny wondered how a normal individual was meant to open such a heavy door.
As he pondered about it, Gepard knocked twice on the door, sparing a few seconds before slowly opening the door with frightening ease. It was to be expected of an Awakened, so Sunny wasn't too surprised.
'Seriously, how does a normal guy open this door?'
He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard a feminine voice echo from within the large room.
"...But that's a meaningless sacrifice, how can you—"
Suddenly, another female voice spoke out; although it sounded much older.
"Ahem... You may leave, Bronya. Visitors have arrived."
As Sunny was finally able to see inside the room, Sunny saw the two women who were speaking.
The first of them was young woman with long gray hair and matching gray eyes. She wore a short white dress with blue and gold details, two purple-and-blue earrings, thigh high black boots, black tights and translucent gloves. She had a blue and black hair tie, and wore a golden symbol on her left breast that had the appearance of a mask.
The second of the two women sat behind a desk within the large room, causing Sunny to infer that this was the current Supreme Guardian: Cocolia.
She had blonde hair that shared a similar style to the other girl — who's name was supposedly Bronya — but tied into a ponytail that hung on her shoulder. She had purple eyes and a curvaceous figure. Cocolia wore the same earrings as Bronya, and wore a white and black outfit along with black leggings that revealed her hips. She had a green scarf that had numerous medals attached to it.
As Sunny looked at her, he blinked in realization.
'…Welp, I guess you're definitely not the strongest here — even excluding Sampo — Gepard.'
The Supreme Guardian was neither a mundane human nor an Awakened — not the rank anyways. Rather, she was a single step above that: a Master.
Bronya had a conflicted expression on her face as she hesitated, before eventually gave in to Cocolia's demands.
"Yes, mother."
Sunny exchanged looks with Dan Heng, seemingly thinking the same thing as Bronya walked past them without even sparing a glance. The door slammed shut behind them.
They had somehow intruded on a family feud.
Gepard slightly bowed towards the Supreme Guardian.
"Madam Guardian, I have brought three outsiders to see you."
Cocolia nodded with an amiable smile on her face.
"The messenger informed me. Well done, Gepard. You may leave."
Straightening up from his bow, Gepard nodded towards them before exiting the room. Another indication of the door being shut reverberated throughout the room, signifying his departure.
As Cocolia placed all of her attention on the three of them, Sunny suddenly had a feeling of unease; almost like a promonition.
'…Look at me, overthinking things.'
Despite his tone, Sunny narrowed his eyes. As he looked at the beautiful woman in front of him, he felt like something was off.
Well, he'll either figure it out or he won't. Who knows, maybe nothing was wrong in the first place.
Not that Sunny would take such a risk.
"Welcome, visitors from beyond the Eternal Freeze. Or perhaps I should say: From beyond the sky... no?"
"I am Cocolia Rand, Belobog's supreme guardian. I would be grateful if you could tell me why you have come."