The interior of the somber cathedral was as bizarre as its exterior. Sunny expected the actual floors to be constructed properly, and some of the corridors they walked through were. But other parts of Night Temple were upside-down, as well, the flat floors serving as ceilings and the arching ceiling serving as uneven floors.
And that was just the outward ring. He didn't even want to imagine how the temple itself and the inner sanctum looked.
As they walked, he saw several Lost silently going about the mundane business of maintaining the Citadel. They were dressed in the same crude clothes he was now wearing, and wielded no weapons.
However, every one of them, from a person calmly changing the oil in the wall lamps to a man sweeping the floors, radiated the same aura of strength and lethality as the two sentinels that had met them at the gate.
They were all battle-hardened, veteran elites.
'...Just what is this place?'
After descending a few sets of twisting stairs, Sunny and Cassie were led to another, slightly bigger room. That one had a large table in its center.
The sentinel gestured at it and said, his voice not betraying any emotions:
"Sir Pierce is on his way. Please, present the items you brought from the outside for inspection."
Cassie took a step forward and place her belt and scabbard on the table. The Lost shifted his gaze to Sunny and waited.
"Uh… all my things are stored inside a Memory."
He considered hiding the existence of the Covetous Coffer, but thought better of it. There was nothing inside of it worth hiding, anyway... or rather, almost nothing.
The sentinel frowned, then said in a dark tone:
"Summon it."
Soon, the small box was sitting on the table. Sunny opened it and started producing item after item, slowly building a large pile. They were spices, cooking utensils, hygienic products, several packs of underwear… both male and female, which earned him a strange look… a piece of a broken mirror, a couple of soul shards, a folding chair, various snacks, packs of tea and coffee, and many more.
As the pile slowly became larger and larger, the sentinel's face grew more and more incredulous. Finally, his eye twitched.
"How much trash do you have in that box?"
Sunny smiled.
"Almost finished!"
He fished out a tube of sunscreen and several sticks of lip balm, threw them into the pile, then thrust his arm into the maw of the Coverous Coffer up to the shoulder, swept its bottom a few times, ignoring Weaver's needle and diamond string, then finally took a step back.
"That is all."
The Lost shook his head and started picking up the items one after another, inspecting them carefully. What he was expecting to discover, Sunny did not know.
At that moment, the door of the room opened, and a tall man with sharp features and steely eyes came in. His dark hair was cut short, and there was stubble on his cheeks. The man wore a scale armor forged out of lusterless blue steel, and held himself with the relaxed confidence of an experienced killer.
Sunny didn't need an introduction to realize that he was standing in front of a Master… and a powerful one, at that.
Sir Pierce seemed to be less frightening than Morgan of Valor, but Morgan was barely older than Effie while this man had a decade or two to sharpen his skill and accumulate battle experience. He was a knight of Valor, still. Sunny harbored no illusions — in front of this monster, neither Cassie nor he stood a chance.
Especially not while surrounded by an army of a hundred Awakened elites.
'Why am I thinking about this? We are here to talk, not fight…'
And they really needed this conversation to go well. Depending on how convincing they could be and how receptive Sir Pierce was, Sunny would either have to do things the easy way, the hard way… or abandon his plans to retrieve the second knife altogether.
The sentinel greeted the Master respectfully, and then continued to inspect the mountain of items Sunny had produced from the Covetous Coffer. Sir Pierce glanced at it for a moment, then turned to Cassie.
"Awakened Cassia. Welcome back to the Night Temple."
Cassie bowed slightly.
"Sir Pierce."
Sunny suppressed the desire to roll his eyes.
'It's like I am invisible.'
Both the sentinels and the formidable Master had ignored his existence entirely, preferring to address the blind girl. Part of the reason must have been that they already knew her, but mostly it had to do with her status as a bearer of a True Name.
Well, it suited Sunny perfectly. He liked to remain as unnoticeable as possible.
Sir Pierce and Cassie exchanged several pleasantries, slowly approaching the discussion of the real issue. Sunny listened attentively, knowing how much rode on this conversation.
…At some point, however, he got distracted.
'What… what was that?'
For a moment, he thought that he heard someone sigh deeply behind him. No… he definitely did!
But there was no one there.
Sunny frowned.
'Am I hallucinating, or…'
It was then that a familiar voice suddenly resounded in his ears:
"Sunless… I am so glad that you made it."
Sunny eyes widened slightly. He looked at the sentinel, Cassie, and Master Pierce. None of the showed any sign that they had heard anything. Turning away, as if to stare at the wall, he hid his face and said in a barely audible whisper:
"Mordret! Where have you been, bastard?"
His words sounded harsh, but his tone was actually elated.
The voice chuckled, making Sunny feel a bit tense, for some reason.
Was it just him… or did the mysterious prince sound a bit different?
"Me? Oh… actually, I was with you this whole time, watching as you traveled across the Dream Realm. I just chose not to speak."
Sunny blinked a couple of times. A heavy, cold feeling settled in his chest.
Something was wrong. Very, very wrong…
"You… chose not to speak? Why?"
Mordret remained silent for a few moments, then said in his usual pleasant tone:
"With how cautious you are, I was afraid that you wouldn't come if I said too much."
'What… what does he mean?'
Sunny felt his heart beating wildly in his chest. His intuition was sounding the alarms, filling him a sudden feeling of dread.
'Fooled… was I fooled?
"Come where? Here, to the Night Temple?"
At that moment, the sentinel picked up the piece of the broken mirror from the pile.
Mordret spoke again, his voice still friendly, but suddenly much colder and deeper beneath the surface. Like a dark and restless ocean hiding under a thin veil of mist…
"Indeed. Thank you to bringing this piece of mirror to me, Sunless. I am very grateful."
Sir Pierce casually glanced at the sentinel while responding to Cassie. His gaze stopped at the mirror. In the next moment, his pupils widened.
"...And very sorry for what is about to happen next."
The formidable Master was suddenly near the table, the Lost thrown aside. The piece of the mirror was in his hand.
Throwing a wild look at Sunny, he screamed:
"Where did you find it, boy?! Answer me!"
Sunny took a stoop back, stunned.
"I… I…"
He remembered Saint Tyris telling him not to mention Reckoning island. However, at the moment, it seemed like Pierce would rip him apart if Sunny dared to twist the truth even a little. So, he answered honestly:
"Reckoning. I picked it up after slaying a strange creature."
Sir Pierce stared at him for a moment, and then his face suddenly changed. It became deathly pale and motionless, as if aged by ten years. His eyes grew wide and glassy.
The fearsome Master was… was…
Terrified.
But before any of them could do anything, a thin crack appeared on the shard in his hand.
And in the next moment, all Sunny could hear was the sound of breaking mirrors.
Sunny flinched as the sound of shattering mirrors filled his ears. No one else seemed to react to it, though — and a moment later, as the cracked piece of glass in Master Pierce's hand exploded into a rain of shards, the sound abruptly disappeared.
The fearsome man shuddered.
"No…"
'What is happening?!'
Sunny took a step back. Things were happening too fast, and he couldn't comprehend the situation yet. All he knew was that his heart was cold, and his mind was overwhelmed by a premonition of something ominous, dreadful, and disastrous happening.
He had been fooled… he had made a mistake!
Cassie shifted slightly, tilting her head with a tense and confused expression.
In the next moment, Pierce swiftly turned to the sentinel, his face still pale and terrified, but now also full of grim resolve. His voice, which had been so confident just a few moments ago, now sounded panicked:
"Seal the temple! Destroy the Gateway! Go, now! We can't… we can't let that thing escape…"
Sunny's eyes widened.
'D… destroy the Gateway?! What the hell does he mean?!'
And what thing he was talking about?
The sentinel didn't seem to have these questions. Pierce's terror had spread to him like an infection, but the man simply nodded and darted out of the room without letting fear slow him down.
Cassie took a step back to let him pass, then asked tensely:
"Sir Pierce? What is going on?"
As though reminded of their presence, the Master turned around and threw a dark, menacing look at Sunny.
"...You!"
His voice shook with barely suppressed fury.
'Crap…'
Sunny thought about summoning the Cruel Sight, but before he could even move, the tall man was already beside him, grabbing him by the shoulder. If it wasn't for the Bone Weave, Sunny's clavicle might have cracked from the terrible pressure.
With his other hand, Pierce grabbed Cassie, causing her to yelp in pain.
"I'll deal with two of you later… there's no time…"
Next thing Sunny knew, they were being dragged out of the room. He threw a regretful glance at the pile of his belongings that was left laying on the table, stared at the Covetous Coffer for a moment, and then turned away.
'What to do, what to do…'
The situation was clearly out of his control now. Mordret has done something… had manipulated him to do something… and now, the whole Citadel was on high alarm and furious with Sunny. Whatever it was that the mysterious prince had used Sunny to achieve, it was bad enough to terrify a Master and justify the irrevocable destruction of a precious Gateway.
So, there were two questions.
'Should I try to fight my way out? And… should I also be terrified of the thing that Mordret unleashed?'
Suddenly, another thought occurred to Sunny.
'Or is… is Mordret himself that thing?'
His heart grew even colder.
There was not enough information to answer the second question, but the first one was rather easy. Sunny was strong, but not nearly strong enough to fight two Masters and a hundred deadly elites, especially not on their home ground. Plus, both he and Cassie had status… even a great clan wouldn't dare to make them disappear without proper cause.
'I... I need more information first. Let's see how this plays out and make a move if the circumstances demand it…'
So, he didn't struggle as Master Pierce dragged them into the corridor.
Outside the small room, the Citadel that had been peaceful and somber before was not in a state of pandemonium. Several Lost darted past them, their shadows dancing on the black walls in the orange glow of the ornate oil lamps.
Sunny could see motion and sense hurried, but orderly movement in every direction. Unlike before, each inhabitant of the temple was now clad in armor and wielded deadly weapons. They were swift and disciplined, like professional soldiers that were preparing for war.
And there was an army of them.
But, despite all that…
Was it nervousness he felt behind the facade of calmness the Lost showed?
Master Pierce shouted at one of the sentinels, ordering him to stop, then pushed Sunny and Cassie toward the man.
"Lock these two up in the lesser cell!"
Sunny wanted to express his outrage, but before he could, the whole temple suddenly shuddered. A few moments later, a deafening soundwave rolled through the corridor.
'The gates… they have closed them…'
But it wasn't as simple as that. Since they were still in the outward ring of the Citadel, his shadow sense had been somewhat able to reach into the emptiness beyond its outer wall. But as soon as the gates closed, that changed, as though the temple was now completely cut off from the outside world.
It was now sealed… with them inside…
The sentinel silently grabbed the two of them and dragged them away. Staggering and trying not to fall, Sunny threw a glance behind his shoulder.
The last thing he saw was a woman with beautiful red hair appearing before the fearsome Master. She wore a simple black tunic and leather vambraces, her shins protected by a pair of greaves. The woman's face was grim and full of tension.
"...Pierce! What the Spell happened?!"
A moment later, the two disappeared behind a turn of the corridor.
'This must be Master Welthe…'
The Lost swiftly dragged them through the disorienting maze of corridors and stairs. They were descending lower and lower, most likely heading toward one of the cathedral's belfries. His expression was dark and severe, and for a good reason — everywhere they passed through, the inhabitants of the Night Temple were busy preparing for battle. It was as though they were expecting to face a terrifying siege…
The threat, however, didn't seem to be coming from the outside. Instead, most of the Lost were rushing deeper into the temple, toward its inner sanctum.
…It wasn't long before they heard screams.
The sound traveled through the confusing interior of the cathedral in a strange manner, so it was hard to say from which direction the screams came. They seemed distant, and yet, Sunny couldn't help but feel his blood run cold.
These chilling wails were full of indescribable agony and terror… he knew the type too well. These were the screams that humans let out when they were not only horribly hurt, but also maimed, knowing that their lives were either over or would never be the same.
The sentinel in charge of them stopped for a moment. His face grew ashen, and without saying a word, he continued to drag them toward a heavy metal door at the end of a long corridor.
The Lost used an elaborate key to open the door, and then pushed them inside.
Sunny and Cassie found themselves in a circular chamber that had a tall ceiling… or rather, a tall floor, since it was built in reverse. The domed ceiling of the chamber was actually beneath their feet, sloping down like a deep crater.
In the center of the cell, a large iron cage stood, each bar of it as thick as a man's arm. Strange runes were inscribed all around the cage, circling it entirely.
'What the…'
A moment later, the sentinel unceremoniously pushed them both in the backs, causing Sunny and Cassie to roll down the slope of the dome and through the door of the cage, which he then promptly closed.
It locked with a loud click, cutting their way to freedom.
'No way...'
Sunny rose to his feet, turned around, and watched as the Lost left the room and shut the door behind him.
For a few moments, they were left in absolute silence. The room was dark, with only a single oil lamp burning on the wall near the exit. Its orange flame trembled and danced, barely managing to keep the shadows at bay.
Sunny gritted his teeth, then kicked the iron bars with all his might and screamed in anger and frustration:
"Damn it! Damn it all"
Behind him, Cassie slowly stood up, then swayed a little.
"Sunny…"
He turned to her and snarled:
"What?!"
The blind girl grimaced.
"Something… something is wrong. I feel…"
Sunny stared at her for a few moments, then blinked and looked outside the cage.
...The runes surrounding it were slowly starting to emanate an eerie, dangerous blue glow.
Sunny looked at the runes. Their eerie glow was swiftly growing brighter and brighter, drowning the chamber in a ghostly light. Slowly, a deep frown appeared on his face.
Then, suddenly, his eyes widened.
"Crap!"
But it was already too late. The runes shimmered, and in the next moment, he felt his reserve of shadow essence plunging. It was as though something was draining the essence out of his soul with terrifying speed.
At the same time, the range of shadow essence diminished even further, becoming limited by the size of the cage. The gloomy shadow recoiled, trying to get away from the shining runes.
Sunny hurriedly tried to summon the Cruel Sight, but he was a second too slow. Before the spear could form itself from the sparks of light, his essence ran dry, and it disintegrated before assuming a physical form.
"...Damnation!"
He looked helplessly at the bars of the cage and clenched his fists.
This was indeed a jail cell built to contain Awakened. Without shadow essence, he wouldn't be able to use Shadow Step to escape. More than that, he couldn't summon Memories anymore — manifesting them into reality demanded essence, as well, even if it was a tiny amount.
The same went for Echoes… and even Shadows.
He also felt weak, and was only going to grow weaker in the coming hours — without essence circulating through his body, Sunny's strength was vastly diminished.
...Whoever created this damned cage really knew what they were doing.
With a resentful snarl, Sunny turned around and allowed himself to slide down to the center of the dome, where Cassie stood with a lost expression on her pale, delicate face.
Raising one hand awkwardly, she tentatively moved it through the air around her and whispered:
"...I am blind again."
Sunny frowned, stared at her for a moment, and then turned away.
"You were always blind."
Of course, he knew what Cassie meant — without soul essence, the Aspect Ability that allowed her to perceive the world from several seconds in the future was gone, too. It wasn't exactly sight, but something that had replaced being able to see to her.
His words might have been cruel, but Sunny was not in the mood for pleasantries.
Being locked in a cage, powerless to escape… that was his worst nightmare.
And he had no one but himself to blame for ending up that way!
Turning away from the blind girl, Sunny sat down, lowered his head, and grabbed it with both hands.
'Curse him…'
Suddenly, the cathedral shook again.
Cassie remained silent for a while, then said quietly:
"This must have been the Gateway. They… they really destroyed it."
Sunny closed his eyes.
"I guess you are right."
He heard her sitting down opposite him and wondered about the black altar that was now laying somewhere in the depths of the Citadel in pieces. Was the ivory knife destroyed, as well?
Had there even been a second knife, to begin with? Or was it just a lie Mordret had invented to lure him into the Night Temple?
What else had he lied about?
Sunny gritted his teeth, suppressing a groan. He felt scared, furious, and utterly humiliated.
He had been so careful not to trust the mysterious voice after hearing it for the first time. But Mordret had been so helpful, and had provided him with so much valuable information that proved to be true. Sunny was, most likely, only alive because of the lost prince's aid.
Even so, he had never lowered his guard. If there had been the smallest hint that Mordret wanted something from him, he would have suspected the worst. But the bastard was just too devious and cunning… terrifyingly so.
Mordret had played him like a fiddle...
He had understood perfectly just how untrusting Sunny was, and went with the lightest of approaches. Knowing that any pressure would scare his paranoid mark off, Mordret had simply mentioned the ivory knife in passing and never spoke about it again… in fact, after the hook was in, he had never spoken to Sunny again.
Observing silently and waiting for his prey to come to him of its own volition…
Sunny shuddered.
'Oh, gods… how much has he seen?'
He was willing to bet that there had never even been a need for Mordret to wait days between their conversations. All of it was just a part of an intricate web of lies and manipulation.
'Fool! I am such a fool!'
How had he allowed himself to be fooled so completely?
A crazy smile suddenly appeared on Sunny's face, and he let out a stifled laugh.
Wasn't the answer obvious? Truth… his downfall was the truth! Like a masterful liar, Mordret had mixed just enough of it into his lies to make them believable.
"Oh, the irony..."
Cassie shifted slightly, and asked, her voice soft and cautious:
"Sunny? What exactly happened back there?"
He let out a bitter chuckle and answered in a dark tone:
"Why? Don't you know everything?"
The blind girl didn't answer, and after some more time passed, he sighed.
"...Sorry. It was me. I got us into this mess."
Sunny straightened and forced himself to calm down.
Dwelling on the past was not going to do them any good. The situation was bad, but not hopeless. The future was uncertain, and there would surely be a chance to turn everything around… he just needed to remain in control of himself and be ready to act when an opportunity presented itself.
Who said that Mordret was going to have the last laugh?
"Do you remember the mysterious Lost I told you about? The one who had taught me about the Seed, and the knives?"
Cassie nodded slowly.
Sunny lingered for a few moments, then shook his head.
"Well, as it turns out, he lured me into the Night Temple on purpose. He needed the piece of mirror I found a while back, for some reason. When Master Pierce saw it, all hell broke loose."
She remained silent for some time, and then asked:
"Do you think that this Lost is here, in the Night Temple?"
Sunny looked away. When he finally spoke, his voice sounded grim:
"I do. Actually… I think that this whole Citadel is a prison. A prison that was meant to contain a single creature. Him."
Cassie shivered and hugged her shoulders. A heavy silence settled between them.
After a while, she said:
"Maybe you are right. But, Sunny…"
Her voice trembled:
"...What kind of a being would require a hundred Awakened fighters, two Ascended knights, and a Saint to guard it?"
Sunny stared at her, not knowing what to say.
He had no idea.