Asher narrowed his eyes at Kai, sighing. 'But I can't lie...'
"The spire messenger dropped me mid-flight." Asher said slowly as Hou and Kai's eyes widened. "You survived an encounter with a spire messenger?!" Hou asked, shocked. "Why didn't you tell this to me?!"
Asher didn't respond as Sunny narrowed his vision at Kai, who reluctantly nodded. Hou shook his head, keeping whatever he heard in the back of his mind for now, while Kai came beside him.
"So..." Hou began.
"You both know each other??" Kai finished.
Asher simply looked at both of them with a awkward chuckle while Sunny glared at Asher.
"Bastard..."
Sunny's words died in his mouth. He didn't know where to start. Should he explain their experience with that damned tree, or should he explain what all happened since he reach the dark city.
Where should he start? But first...
He stepped forward and gave Asher a slow, shaky punch to the chest.
"Glad you're alive…"
Asher couldn't help but smile, "Yeah... glad I'm alive as well."
Sunny's black eyes glanced at his face.
He frowned slightly. Between Asher and Kai… it was genuinely hard to tell who was better-looking.
Both were in a league of their own!
He didn't know when Asher had arrived in the Dark City — but since Sunny had left Bright Castle, he'd heard nothing.With Asher walking so freely here, though… naturally, Nephis must have known.
"Where were you?" Asher cut into his thoughts.
Sunny closed his eyes, his expression a bit solemn. "In the dark city. Nephis didn't say anything to you?"
Hou's eyes instantly went up as he looked at Asher, but remained silent.
Asher's face twisted slightly."Uh..." He looked at Kai, who stood awkwardly beside Hou, clearly listening.
"No. She didn't."
Sunny closed his eyes. He expected as much. Of course Nephis hadn't shared what happened that night.
Before he could respond, a loud slam echoed through the hall.
"Hey, kid!"
Asher jumped and turned. Stev stood at the stall, bloodshot eyes locked on Sunny.
"Do you want to buy a memory or not? If not, get lost!"
Asher slowly walked to Stev with a defeated expression. "Stev, you fat bastard..."
Stev, glanced at him, holding an empty canister of 'wine'. "YOU COMPLETED MY SHARE OF THE ALCOHOL!!" Asher whacked Stev in the head
Hou sighed, "He finally stopped calling that overly concentrated thing wine." Kai looked at him, a bit concerned. "he looks underaged."
"He is 17 like me." Sunny mouthed, sighing while looking at Stev, "Kai here is the one who'll be handing you the shards. I'm just here to point him at the right ones. I have an eye for good Memories, you see."
He looked at Asher, mouthing: "We'll talk later"
Asher, still whining about his alcohol, didn't respond but Sunny knew Asher got the message as he began perusing through the market. Asher wiped his tear, being escorted out by Hou.
Hou looked at Asher with narrowed eyes as Asher understand the meaning. "I'll explain later."
His eyes suddenly narrowed. "We have business to do for now."
Hou matched his expression, "We do indeed"
Asher slowly grinned as Hou touched his shoulder.
[You have received a memory]
[You have received a memory]
Asher summoned a familiar stuffy armor as he got of the alley. Hou threw him a mask as Asher caught it, wearing it.
They were about to pull of their biggest scam yet.
****
"The Saint's Mercy awaits you!" Aiko shouted as She pointed to a large, ornate wheel standing beside a small raised stage. It was in the gambling den, a throng of people looking at a figure next to it. Zerei sat on a chair, his hands crossed as he silently looked at the crowd.
"Step right up! Just one shard, and give yourself a chance to win a memory
personally donated by our benevolent Saint Zerei!" Aiko called.
Zerei turned his head slightly, watching her with an unreadable expression behind the mask, 'Aiko is very good at advertising...'
The crowd, stirred by her words, surged forward. Soul shards clinked into a wooden box one after another. Aiko's assistants swiftly scribbled numbers on slips of parchment — one copy handed to the participant, the other carefully dropped into a draw box along with a torn piece of an old memory scroll she'd bought from Stev.
"The bigger the pot, the better the Memory!" Aiko added. "And donations increase your chances of winning!"
That tipped the scale. Several people who had already paid in one shard 'donated' more, their expressions tight with hesitation — and hope.
Zerei's brow twitched.
'...Very good at advertising,' he thought again.
Suddenly, a voice from the crowd cut through the noise.
"Saint Zerei!"
A hush fell. Dozens of eyes turned toward the speaker, then to Zerei.
"Out of curiosity... why are you doing this?"
Silence. Even Aiko blinked, curious how he'd respond.
Zerei stood up, causing everyone to hold their breaths
"A below-average memory in the memory market costs around 7-9 soul shards." Zerei started. Everyone nodded their heads.
"The amount of people who die due to having mediocre memories or no proper equipment at all is unreasonably high." He raised his voice a little,
gesturing to the floor beneath them."You all clawed your way into the Bright Castle — fought nightmare creatures, risked your lives — just to stay here for a week?"
Murmurs passed between people. Some looked down, others nodded grimly.
Zerei turned to the back half of the room."Castle guards. Hunters. Pathfinders. Do you truly believe the Bright Lord — with all his wealth — can provide each of you a quality Memory?" He paused. "Can any of you guarantee your next hunt won't be your last?"
A quiet wave of agreement passed over the crowd. His words rang true.
"You might have the potential of a lieutenant — maybe more. But talent without resources is nothing. And so.."
He looked at straight, raising his hands, "I believe everyone deserves a chance to fight back."
The crowd was silent.
One person whistled.
Then came claps. Deafening claps followed as people cheered for Zerei.
"Long live saint Zerei!"
"Long live saint Zerei!"
"Long live saint Zerei!"
A chant took over as
Zerei turned and stepped off the stage, disappearing through a door as the crowd roared behind him. Aiko remained behind, clapping with the crowd before raising her voice again.
"The winner will be announced tomorrow! And remember — this event repeats every other day! So enjoy!"
As the den burst into celebration, Aiko slipped through the door, closing it behind her, she sighed, looking at Asher.
"Since when were you so good with speeches?"
Asher removed his mask, rubbing his nose with a smug grin.
"I always was."
Hou, seated at the table, deadpanned.
"I wrote that for hi—"
An apple was suddenly jammed into his mouth. Asher shoved it in deeper, laughing.
"Didn't you say you wanted an apple, Hou? Here! Take it all!"
Hou flailed helplessly, muffled protests filling the room.
Aiko facepalmed, expression flat.
'Idiots.' she muttered.