On their way back, the group, despite losing four entire members to sleep, was very efficient.
No, rather… They were scarily efficient.
When Remi called herself a pathfinder, the meaning behind that title crossed his mind completely-- there was too much other clutter for him to begin to question something that small.
But when they started moving, and the gears in her eyes began clunking repeatedly, Day realized what she meant.
There were multiple times in the mere two hour journey where Remi very precisely warned them of exactly when a Nightmare Creature was going to appear, and she was even able to point out the general direction of where it was going to come from.
The best part, however, was that Remi was also able to pinpoint the exact moment it became safe, so their journey was completely smooth.
In the end, it really did turn out that the way up the hill leading to the Castle was actually on the opposite side of where they first arrived.
Before they reached the actual base of the hill, Day could already see, far above, the sight of the magnificent, shining castle… But it was simply impossible for Day to put into words the feelings he experienced when they reached the base of the hill.
The entire castle and everything around it was made out of a shiny, pristine, white marble. At the base of the hill, there was a large, imposing arch that towered above the group Day was traveling with. Further ahead, there was a large tower with two others connected to it by aerial bridges… but even that wasn't it, as there were also two more, smaller towers accompanying even those, with walls running all the way around starting at the end of the smaller ones.
There was a great, grandiose gate connected to the largest tower, which sent chills up Day's spine, but as his gaze ran up the hill even more, he saw something even more inane.
The main keep, with the colossal castle that could be seen from anywhere in the entire city, was standing tall and towering over them. A myriad of other smaller towers surrounded the colossal, bright castle, each of them rather sizable. The entire scene felt decorated and lively just by the sight of it alone… so Day couldn't even imagine what it looked like within the castle's walls.
Day's jaw gaped open at the magnificent sight.
They started up towards the gate immediately. When they were walking around the hill, there was a small, passing mention of the fact that it would become much safer when they got close to the base of the hill, so Day wasn't as worried. He was behind the entire time, so he just took that as an opportunity to gaze dreamily at the sights presented in front of him.
On their way up, Remi suddenly turned around to look at Day, who was walking at the back of the group. Despite the fact that there were all sorts of different objects in her way, the girl was walking backwards seamlessly.
"Day– I have a quick question."
She paused for a moment.
"Do you two… Have two soul shards?"
Day responded immediately without a seed of doubt in his voice.
"No, why?"
Remi sighed.
"I thought as much. Here… I pulled this one out from the creature your friend killed, but this other one… it's a gift from me. Thank you once again for saving my companion. "
From out of her pocket, she pulled out not one, but two soul shards… and both of them were of the Awakened Rank. Day's eyes widened at the sight, but when he collected himself, he realized… that he probably couldn't even use them, and even if he could– Caster had done the most in that fight, so it wasn't fair for Day to take them.
"Hold on," Day started, chuckling awkwardly, "honestly, you are better off giving this to Caster… He probably needs it more than me."
Remi stared at him for a second, and just as Day began to think she had seen through his bluff…
"I don't think you understand… Ah, sorry, of course you don't. You see, this castle…"
She stopped for a moment, looked around, and then whispered:
"It has a tyrant, and he demands his payment."
"What…?"
The group ahead hadn't yet noticed that they slowed down, and Remi continued. She didn't acknowledge his question, she just kept explaining.
"His name is Gunlaug, and each week, he requires one soul shard per person, and to those who can't pay… Well, you'll find out soon enough."
She put the soul shards in his hands, and then turned around quickly.
"Take them, and come on. We shouldn't fall behind."
Day started to follow silently, but his mind was racing.
"A tyrant… Gunlaug?"
He looked down at the soul shards.
"We need to pay a soul shard a week? Does that mean…"
Day's heart sank.
'That we need to journey out into the dark city frequently for a guarantee of safety, with Awakened and Fallen creatures? That can't be right… No, that's not even the most prominent question… How can a Sleeper control hundreds of people, if there really are that many here? Did Melri lie? Is there actually someone of a higher rank?'
Day clenched the soul shards in his fist.
'I can see why someone would want to do that, even though I really don't like it… but what about the people that can't pay? Why did she stop telling me about it? Is it bad?'
Not very long after… Day got his answer. Outside of the castle's walls, in the distance to the left and right of the main gate, there were a plethora of small, worn out buildings. The people around the buildings… It was difficult to see what exactly they looked like, but they were sluggish, and none of them were speaking to each other.
It was like they weren't even real… like they had lost all of their life, despite having their eyes wide open.
'Is this really what happens…?'
Day frowned deeply, and he looked down to his feet.
'How cruel.'
When they reached the main gate, it was surprisingly easy to enter. Two guards, or so Day assumed by their armor, walked out and greeted the group. They did have a slightly timid demeanor when they gazed at Melri and Remi, but otherwise, they did seem knightly.
One by one, they let the group in. When Day's turn came, their gaze lingered on his broken figure for a few moments, and then one of them said:
"If you need medical attention… We can take you to a healer."
Day smiled weakly, but shook his head. His group did say that they would heal him, and he was content with waiting a little longer.
He wasn't going to tell them that though.
"That's fine. Don't worry about me."
After this short interaction, they let him in reluctantly. He continued forward quickly and caught up to the group he was traveling with, and his companion, Caster. They were, in that short moment, already far ahead talking to a boy in a stand.
'Things are going real fast… I guess this is why Melri told me not to fall behind.'
When he finally got there, Remi quickly pulled him up to the front.
Day stared at the boy for a moment, collecting his words, but the boy spoke first.
"Hi– I'm Harper. I need to…" He trailed off for a second, and then continued, "collect your payment. It's just you and…"
The boy named Harper looked over at Caster and squinted. Day couldn't help but notice the boy's state. He looked malnourished, tired, and in some way, afraid as well– Day wasn't sure what he was afraid of, but the boy's eyes were constantly shooting around and landing everywhere but on Day.
"That guy," Harper suddenly said, "Right? The rest are paid for?"
Day nodded.
"Probably, I don't know."
Day reached forward, soul shards in hand. Harper, without pushing further, took the two shards and reached under the stand. Afterwards, he began to explain the processes:
"I need your names, and then we can find a place to settle you… I believe there is a place left in the Tower of Dawn! Lucky you! Uh… It's only one though, so if you two want to split up, I'll need to place one of you in the Tower of Dusk. That one is… Well…"
Day glanced up at the plethora of spires surrounding the main castle, and soon after, he realized what tower it was…
It was facing the tall, imposing crimson spire.
'Yikes…'
Day sighed.
"I'm Day, and…"
"I am Caster." Caster said, interrupting Day.
Day actually grimaced at the almost cartoony display from the Legacy boy, but he quickly reshaped his face to neutrality, and then a soft, strained smile streaked his features.
"About where we are staying, I'm not quite sure… Give me a moment to speak to him."
"Okay!" Harper said with feigned cheeriness, before writing the names on a piece of paper.
Day took a step closer to Caster, who leaned in every so slightly closer with his ear.
Day, however, wasn't going to whisper.
"So!" Day said loudly, startling Caster, who promptly stepped back.
Day smirked as he stepped away, proud of his work.
Caster clicked his tongue and glared at Day. He opened his mouth to speak, but Day spoke first.
"Do you want to take the room? Or should we share? It's either the latter, or you take the room, because I've never really been one to care about how comfortable the place I sleep is."
Day smiled, but Caster frowned deeply.
"If that's the only option, I'll accept your hospitality, but… I will not be staying in the same room as you."
"You see this shit?" Melri whispered to Aya while snickering, "They are damned freaks."
Aya began to giggle, but quickly stopped and straightened up when she saw Day's face, and because of that, she was able to dodge Day's eyes.
Day shot a mean glance at Melri, then at Remi, as if to say, 'you said she would stop.'
Caster stayed completely silent– completely unphased by Melri's antics.
"Uh," Remi started, "I probably should have specified that she MIGHT stop…"
Harper, through all of this, simply stood there twiddling his thumbs, but at this point, he decided to speak.
"So have you made your choice? If you have, then I might need to ask one of you to wait while I direct the other to their room… Then I can come back for the other one."
"Well," Remi said, "I think we'll take our leave then. Day, Aya resides in the Tower of Blades, the people there know her very well, so just come find her whenever you are ready… To get those dastardly wounds healed."
Aya shuddered.
"I can't believe you are standing here making jokes with those wounds, weirdo…"
Melri laughed.
'Tch… She lightened up enough to make fun of me… Where was that attitude out in the Dark City?'
Day nodded, and thanked them. Caster did the same, and then they left, companions in hand. Day wasn't sure when, but Caster had given the sleeping companion he was carrying to Melri.
'I'm seriously wondering how they are still asleep… Maybe it has to do with Aya's Aspect Ability? Hmmm…'
As Harper watched them leave, he took a small, soft sigh of relief.
Day made note of that, but didn't say anything.
"Anyway! Since it's just us three, I'll take this chance to say… Every morning, Afternoon and Night there is food presented in the main Keep. Please don't be shy to go check it out, dinner will be served the second nightfall comes… Uh, anyway, I'll take… Caster first?"
Caster nodded, and then kept staring at him intently with his arms to his sides.
' Yeesh… Why does he stare at people so intently? Is he trying to be intimidating? It's so weird.'
Harper's eyes fell under his gaze, but the timid boy tried to disguise it as him looking down to reach for a key.
After grabbing the key, as Harper was exiting his stand, Caster said:
"Day, we'll meet at the main Keep at nightfall and figure out what to do from there."
Day shrugged.
"Fine by me."
Then, with that, Caster and Harper left Day behind, standing there…
But at that moment, Day heard a charming voice in his mind, whispering to him…
[Your benevolent light shines brighter.]
And then, once again, he felt his body overcoming a profound change.