Walking behind Marcus, Faraam looked around at the ruins.
There wasn't anything eye-catching, other than the corpses of some nightmare creatures.
Most of these nightmare creatures were already dead before they even came here.
Actually on their way to the Bright Castle, as Marcus called it, they only met a few monsters.
"It seems you know your way here."
Marcus laughed and spoke, "Of course! I have my pride in it. I'm not the best Pathfinder in the city for nothing."
"Pathfinder...?"
Marcus glanced back and sighed.
"Right, I didn't explain anything. The Bright Castle is led by Gunlaug, the third lord. Serving him are the five lieutenants: Harus, the Bright Lord's hidden blade; Tessai, leader of the castle guards; Gemma, leader of the hunters and pathfinders; Kido, leader of the artisans; and finally Seishan, leader of the handmaidens."
'Monarchy... well, this is not good.'
To achieve your goals in this world, you always need to have a voice that everyone could hear, a voice that commands. And that's what Faraam always did; he rose in the ranks in the slums, became the leader of the rebellion army, and his voice reached the government, using them for his plans.
It wasn't easy, but it also wasn't hard.
The problem here is that the only way to rise in the ranks in the Bright Castle is by getting the Lord's approval, and like hell that will happen. Not only would the four leaders suppress him, but getting the lord's approval in itself would be hard.
He needed something that would attract the Bright Lord's attention and give him influence in the castle.
"So you work under Gemma?" Farram asked.
"What? Of course not! Like I'll work under a kid like him." Marcus said with annoyance.
"Kid? How old you are."
Marcus moved a rock from his way and spoke, "Not really sure, but I've been here since the first lord... I saw him when he led his expedition outside of the Dark City trying to find another way to escape this place. I saw the second lord perish as he tried to reach the gateway, and I saw the rise of the third lord..."
He laughed a little, then looked at the Bright Castle above. "You could say that these eyes of mine saw the history of the Bright Castle..." He then looked down and muttered, "Not like I'm proud of it."
Faraam stayed silent, not responding.
Noticing the mood, Marcus smiled and asked, "It must've been a long journey to reach here."
Faraam smiled back, "Indeed. I've been summoned in the far west, and it took me three months to find this place... it was a tiresome journey."
In front of him, Marcus froze in his place and looked at Faraam with his eyes opened wide.
This was not the reaction he expected.
"Y-You were summoned in the west?"
Faraam nodded his head.
"And you fought your way from the west Forgotten Shore to here?"
Faraam shook his head and spoke, "I wasn't summoned in the Forgotten Shore. I was summoned to the land next to it and headed toward the Forgotten Shore."
This time, Marcus didn't just freeze up in his place, no. He was about to scream, only for him to cover his mouth.
Taking a deep breath, Marcus asked, "Do you know how great your accomplishment is?"
Faraam shook his head even though he guessed why.
"No one... No one has ever survived the West Forgotten Shore to tell what is there, but you... you did." There was a glint of hope as he spoke, "You might be the key to our salvation."
And there it was. The key for his plan. The thing that will not only make him gain the attention of the Bright Lord but also make him a powerhouse in the castle!
"Come, we need to reach the castle and tell Gunlung about this."
Faraam walked behind Marcus in silence.
***
In the massive throne room that was filled with bystanders, Kai looked at the middle of the room.
There were two men; one was a man with dark hair and a beard, the other was a tall man with black armor covering his body from head to toe, with his helmet not having any holes for his eyes or nose, making Kai question how he can see or breathe.
The throne room was filled with whispers, mostly about the armored man.
The man who survived the west and came to the Dark City alive.
A few minutes passed, and then the door of the throne room opened.
Entering was a man clad in strange, gilded armor that covered his tall figure from head to toe, not leaving even his eyes exposed. It seemed simultaneously solid and liquid, almost flowing over his mighty muscles and broad, powerful shoulders. In the place where his face should have been, a smooth and empty expanse of polished gold reflects the room.
The Bright Lord passed the man in the middle and sat on his throne.
Beside the Bright Lord stood a pale man with a bony face and glassy, emotionless eyes. His spine was twisted, making him appear deceptively short. The hunchback was wearing simple black clothes with no adornments and holding himself with a bit of awkwardness, as though uncomfortable with all the attention
'Why do both of them not have any holes in their helmet? Is it a trending style?'
No, that would be impossible. How could he not know the current trend?!
Shaking his head, he looked at the Bright Lord.
"Sleeper Faraam, the one who survived the west and made it to the Dark City alive... I welcome you to my castle."
The man named Faraam bowed and replied, "It's an honor to be welcomed by you, your grace."
The Bright Lord nodded his head and pointed his fingers at the other sleepers in the room.
"Most here have heard of the achievement you did and want to hear of what lies in the west. I'm one of them, of course."
'He is lying... Either he doesn't care, or he already knows." Kai thought.
Sleeper Faraam looked around, meeting Kai's eyes for a moment, then spoke.
"What is in the west is a death zone... West of the Dark City is a chain of mountains; protecting its entrance is a Corrupted nightmare creature that can create other nightmare creatures."
What sleeper Faraam meant is that the only strength point of the sleepers of the Dark City, which is their numbers, is ineffective against it.
"And I'm sure there are other Corrupted nightmare creatures that I didn't meet. The chain of mountains is like the Dark City. A place where the dark sea can't reach."
What he meant is that it's a place filled with nightmare creatures.
Kai wanted to believe that he was lying; unfortunately, his flaw made sure he knew if he was telling the truth or not.
"If you manage to stay alive and cross the chain of mountains, then surviving what comes next would be easy."
Faraam then took a deep breath and said, "On my way here I haven't seen any gateway... but I know where one of them is, or at least guess where the gateway is, and unfortunately it's not in the Forgotten Shore."
This has caused a turmoil, but the Bright Lord silenced them quickly.
"What do you mean by that, Sleeper Faraam?" The Bright Lord asked.
"As I said, Lord Gunlung, the gateway is not in the Forgotten Shore. West of the Forgotten Shore is a land of shadows where nothing is alive. No nightmare creatures or humans. In the middle of the land is a pagoda—where I think the gateway is. On this land an empire was founded that believed in Shadow God, the God of Death and Peace. And that empire made a sin... a sin that brought Shadow God rage, which resulted in their demise."
He sighed and continued speaking, "I was summoned there... thankfully I escaped to the Forgotten Shore."
"Why would you even walk into this hell by your own will?"
"Because, Lord Gunlung, this is a hell that I could survive, unlike the hell where I was summoned back then."
Lord Gunlung stayed silent, then asked, "Then how did you survive? You said no one could have survived, yet you're here perfectly well."
Faraam remained silent for a while, then responded, making the whole room turn into chaos.
"Simply because I was the one who was summoned there... I doubt anyone could've done what I did."
Lord Gunlung raised his hand, making everyone silent.
"Isn't that narcissistic of you?"
"I'm just stating facts." Faraam responded.
With nothing to discuss anymore, Gunlung asked everyone to leave except his lieutenants, Faraam, and the man with the beard.
The sleepers who came here with their hopes high left with despair.
Walking with them Kai felt something wrong. This whole thing felt like some kind of a play.
***
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