"This is as far as I'll take you three. If you have soul shards, you can exchange them for safety in the castle." Movie Effie then spent a few minutes explaining everything to the sleepers.
'I remember this...I had almost cried upon hearing there was no gateway. Even more when I later realized it was in the crimson spire.' Cassie thought as she fidgeted the two thumbs, clearly showing her anxiousness and worry. She had nightmares about the Forgotten Shore and about Sunny and Nephis dying too. So she despised that wretched place that took her best friends and that had scarred her. 'Although having the full cohort with me was nice and made it bearable.'
The next few scenes showed the three entering the castle, which was different since only Sunny and Cassie got in. They seemed to like altering lots of things for propaganda. Here, I thought, "An Awakened's Tale" was a 100% real story. Cassie watched as the screen showed a series of scenes where Harper was showing them their rooms, all separated, of course.
In the morning Nephis woke up beautifully before starting her day and then played a montage showing multiple days. Each one she was helping citizens of the castle and going out of the castle to fight awakened creatures in the dark city for the outskirts to eat. She also met Caster after a few days who pledged his loyalty to her as he went along with the quest, while Sunny was slowly getting less screen time to the crowd's dismay. Sunny had also had a catchphrase now which was, "Are you crazy?" because Nephis kept making more insane and daring plans. Even the crowd was roaring, "Are you crazy?" with him each time he said it in a squeaky voice.
Eventually, on a tough hunt with a fallen beast, Sunny had to step in and help but got knocked into a house and passed out. As he woke up he slowly made his way towards the castle before stopping outside of its walls. He watched as Nephis was giving out food with Cassie helping out, Effie cleaning her spear while talking to Kai, and Caster doing his own thing. 'Huh, this I suppose is supposed to be when he leaves then...'
"Crazy...for thinking I was wanted for once, after my life in the outskirts? Heh...I guess I'm crazy..." He said in a sad tone watching everyone in the camp do their own thing without noticing him. The audience cried for him and even more when he walked away and went into the Dark City, alone. 'He'll survive...even if he did come back a bit crazy...he truly is Lost from Light huh.' Cassie had long guessed the meaning behind his true name indicating he'll always be lost from love and everything good. Cassie became a little saddened by that fact but calmed down after a bit. She still felt guilty for taking Sunny's fate and she probably will always but she'll try her best to free him, she promised him mentally to wherever he might be.
The scene changed to when the outskirts had become a fortress and a force not to be reckoned with. It showed the cohort leaving its walls and walking towards Dark City. They killed some monsters on the way which got applauded by the crowd but mostly stayed clear of them. They then met Sunny, who looked more mature and strong, and Nephis convinced him to go with them which he eventually agreed which got cheers from the crowd, excited for more Sunny moments. Eventually, they reached the lighthouse where Effie then talked to the group about its dangers.
"-So keep moving because if you don't you'll die understood?"
Everyone nodded before they all lowered themselves, with Sunny falling face first making the crowd laugh.
They then made their way through the tunnel under the ruined lighthouse carefully. Eventually, they were attacked by skeletons but were destroyed quickly...before starting to reform. Abandoning caution they ran through the tunnel before getting attacked by more skeletons forcing them into formation and slowing down to attack. They slowly made their way through the enemies before reaching a large, hollow cavern with the ground having huge cracks in it.
Effie was shown crushing the skeletons to pieces with just her hands, which admittedly looked cool to Cassie. Caster was swinging a golden sword emitting a toxic green aura, slicing and killing the creatures with just a swing. Sunny was using an austere tachi, the hilt was made out of polished black wood and was radiating a sense of death as wherever his blade went monsters fell. Nephis looked like a small sun with pure white flames covering the figure as she burnt, stabbed, kicked, and killed whatever got in her way.
The tense fighting went on for a few minutes before the cohort reached the bridge and got to the other side before destroying it. We then got a bit of a montage after the cohort left the Dark City after escaping the Lord of the Dead. The group traveled through the crimson labyrinth, slaying many types of creatures and after a quick trip on the stone giant's back, which received many gasps from the crowd, they reached the Mountains. The imposing Hollow Mountain made the 200-meter-long Stone Gaint look like an ant and the cohort even smaller.
After getting off the Gaint they made their way towards the mountain and encountered where one of the members of the first Lord's cohort died. They then barely made it inside a cave Kai had found to the audience's relief as they made their way deeper into the cave. They then went through many trials and perils before finding the crown on a skeleton which Nephis claimed. 'Now we're getting to a good part,' Cassie thought as Nephis cohort entered a large circular cavern where a spire messager resided.
"Get ready and make sure to touch the Statue before killing it!" Nephis yelled out as the Fallen beast flew towards them at great speeds before meeting Effie's shield. The cohort then engaged in combat with the harrowing beast towering over them, its sharp dark beak looked razor-sharp, and its fur looked more like onyx armor. The more they fought the more pressure and desperation were put on the cohort before Nephis made a mistake and lost her footing for a second. The bird then swung its talons at her but before they reached her Sunny pushed her away and blocked the attack before getting flung toward the statue.
"Sunny!"
"Don't worry about me Nephis, keep fighting!"
Following his command the cohort fought the Spire Messanger with renewed strength. Eventually, the cohort got backed into a corner, and both the cohort and bird were injured as the bird slowly raised its talons. The audience was shocked and scared for the cohort that was about to be killed. Right before it struck true a sword stabbed it and went through its head, it shrieked before then falling, dead.
The crowd roared and clapped for the cohort's success in killing a fallen beast. Moments before the cinema was crestfallen, but now they were filled with joy. Even Cassie was smiling slightly as Effie pumped up her hands in the air from her wheelchair.
"Yeah! You saw how I fought that Message Cassie? I gave it a massive beatdown!"
"I saw...though "seeing" is a strong word."
Effie gave her a light punch on the shoulder before turning back towards the screen. It showed the cohort exiting the cave and making their long journey back toward the Dark City as the screen transitions to them reaching it. 'Looks like we're reaching the final arc of the Forgotten Shore where blood will be spilled...' though how wrong she was proven as Nephis made her way back to camp. There she gathered the the entire outskirts population before making an inspiring speech that filled them with hope before then leading them towards the castle.
Upon reaching the castle there was an army in front of its gates, with the tyrant Gunlaug sitting on his throne.
"Changing Star... Welcome." gunlaug said in a deep and fearful voice.
Once Nephis's army got close they all felt the oppressing aura from the armor. Even the crowd seemed to be affected and sunk into their cushioned seats a bit. Nephis though stayed up and even lifted her chin a little bit to look fearless.
"I've come to stop your tyrannical rule, surrender now and let me lead us all to salvation, or die."
"I'm afraid I can't do that, but if you think you can beat me with my transcendent armor, you're welcome to try."
All four lieutenants got in a stance as Gunlaug took the lead, summoning two golden daggers. While Nephis's cohort got into a row, with Kai and Cassie in the back. Nephis, Caster, and Sunny were on the front line with their respective weapons. The battlefield was silent with only the wind making any noise...until both Gunlaug and Nephos ran at each other and immediately clashed. This started the civil battle of the outskirts army vs the castle army.
Nephis clashed with Gunlaug,
Sunny clashed with Harris,
Kai clashed with Gemma,
Caster clashed with Tessai,
Cassie clashed with Kido,
Effie clashed with Seishan,
And the outskirt army fought the castle army.
It was an intense battle between the two and at times members of the cohorts got close to death which shook the audience each time. Eventually, the battle reached its climax as dead bodies started to build up, and both armies started to tire out but refused to give up. But a loud yelp echoed throughout the battlefield stopping the battle as everyone turned to see...Nephis being held by her throat by Gunlaug. Immediately this shocked both the audience and the armies as the leader of the the outskirts was now defeated.
"Tisk, I expected more from the scion of the Immortal Flame clan. But like everyone else you are weak, and you will die thinking you can ever have defeated me. I'll have your lovely skull hanging nicely on my desk for your transgression against me."
He then smirked before then tightened his hold on her as she squirmed and tried to claw his hands off her.
"Any last words, Saint Nephis?" He said in a mocking tone.
"You should've crushed my neck while you had the chance, NOW SUNNY!"
Gunlaug realizing her plan, turned around but was a second too late. Sunny used [Moonlight Shard] and landed its tip on the flat surface of where his face should be. With the help of [Dawn Shard]'s augmentation, it was able to crack it and leave a small hole where a nose was revealed.
"Aghh!"
Gunlaug stumbled back and before he could recover Nephis dashed towards him. Grabbing him by his neck, she blew a red powder into the small hole before the crack fixed itself. Gunlaug kicked her away as he suddenly twitched violently. Sunny grabbed Nephis and held her as Gunlaug started to twitch violently more and more until blood appeared.
"W-what have you done to m-me girl!"
He coughed out blood as he shouted out his words weakly enraged.
"Simple, I poisoned you in your moment of weakness. You'll be dead in about twenty seconds, so find your peace, you damn tyrant."
Everyone watched as the Golden Serpent spewed more and more blood as he made his way slowly toward his throne. The crowd was silent as this all happened, either that was from fear, shock, or respect for the scene. As the Golden Lord said down he left out one last rough breath before dying on his throne. After a few moments, Nephis raised herself on a rock before her voice filled the battlefield.
"Gunlaug is dead, he was not as invincible as you all thought. Follow me, and I will lead you all to the same victory against the Crimson Spire. It will be tough, it will be dangerous, some of us will die but together, we can do it!"
Cheers and shouts rained the area as many bowed, many kneeling, all for their new Queen, their savior.
The audience followed as they all cheered for Nephis's victory. Cassie also clapped as she watched her best friend kill Gunlaug, 'wretched man-beast, go to hell.'
Immediately after this, both armies merged as one as they then marched towards the distant spire that scrapes the sky even. As they got closer the Spire towered over them more and more until they reached a hill. At the crest of the hill, the army spotted the nightmare creature army guarding the Spire.
"Today we fight for our salvation, come with me Dreamer army, come with me to our destined victory!"
The army roared as they ran down the hill in a tight formation. The creatures saw them halfway down the hill and rushed to oppose their attack as both sides clashed at the bottom of the hill. The fight played out like the actual one that happened except all the lieutenants, minus Seishan, died during the battle heroically. Kai still distracted the Spire messengers while Effie, Nephis, and Caster fought in the front lines, and Cassie stayed behind safely. The screen transitioned to Sunny sprinting towards the Spire.
Sunny arrived and went inside the Spire before looking around, and eventually finding where to place the keys. The audience cheered for Sunny's success in reaching the Spire but before Sunny could place the keys, 7 monstrosities appeared, blocking his path. An intense battle played out as Sunny fought valiantly, with the crowd cheering at times and discouraged at times whenever he got hit. Sunny overcame them though after breaking the leader's crown and placing all 7 keys, opening the gate where the sea that had been threatening to drown the army was consumed.
He then rang a bell alerting the army as they regrouped inside the Spire. The army then started climbing as Caster and Nephis went to fight the fallen terror while Sunny helped the army reach the Gateway. Sunny made sure that everyone stayed away from the soul-damaging sunlight but at times got hurt himself which got gasps in the audience. After everyone left, Sunny heard one last roar before it died down indicating Nephis had beaten the Gate Gaudian.
Sunny ran up the stairs leading to Nephis, who was heavily injured and leaning on her sword. Running at her Sunny helped her up and led her down the stairs, staying clear of falling debris as they made their way down to the Gateway. As they reached the hallway containing the Gateway Nephis halted just a few meters away from the Gateway, to Sunny's bewilderment.
"What are you doing? Let's go c'mon we're almost there!"
"No Sunny you go, we both can't escape. After I killed the Terror I got an attribute called soul conduct, we both have it and someone has to stay for the Gateway to be active."
"So what? You're just going to sacrifice yourself after everything you did to get here for me?
"Yes, now please go Sunny I beg you, it's for your safety. I can survive alone here but you can't, I won't risk your life so go."
Sunny stared at her for a moment, shocked.
"Oh so NOW you care about me! NOW you worry about me, you're just letting me leave so you don't feel guilty!"
"What are you talking about Sunny? Why would I feel guilty? I'm letting you go because I do care for you."
"You didn't even come and find me when I was knocked into a house! I woke up alone and heavily injured, and when I reached the castle guess what I saw. I saw you with your stupid emotionless face, not having a care in the world to even look for me as I was dying!"
"I DID CARE, I did care Sunny! But everyone thought you were dead and I couldn't break my mask. I had to leave you behind or else everyone wouldn't see me as Changing Star, they'll see me just as Nephis. And they'll stop following me and everything I had done would be for nothing.
And I'm sorry okay? I'm sorry I left you, I'm sorry I left you to die. But now I'm repaying you, leave me Sunny, please. Take the Gateway, be selfish, and get out of this hell and be with Cassie, and I-I hope you find your sister."
Sunny stared at her before chuckling, and then full-blown laughing before stopping.
"I'm...not leaving you Neph, I'm staying with you and we'll get out of this hell, together."
"Why Sunny? Why won't you leave I'm giving you the choice to just go so why won't you? I'll survive here, I'm Changing Star after all remember?"
"Well...because I know that although you put up the front of being Changing Star of the Immortal Flame, I see through it. I only see Neph, the one who inspired hope throughout the Forgotten Shore, the one who traveled to the Hollow Mountains and returned. You're human, like me, even more, you're a warrior, a great one. Most importantly though, I won't leave the one who conquered my heart, I love you Nephis."
Cassie cringed a little at the final part of Sunny's confession. 'he would never say anything as corny and cringeworthy as that! But I can't say that this isn't both heartwarming and sweet.' Nephis blushed at his confession, after all, he had to ask in the worst times possible. Though Sunny had the blessing of getting an answer throughout the chaos around them.
"I...love you too Sunny, I'm guessing there's nothing I can say that will change your mind to leave?"
"Not a change princess, we'll make it, after all you promised."
"That I did, now let's get going before the whole thing crumbles."
Sunny and Nephis ran as the walls around them cracked and crashed down on them. Luckily, they were able to dodge most of it before reaching the edge of the hallway and staring at the drop beneath them that contained their exit. Golden sparks formed on Sunny's back before materializing into wings.
"Hold on tight Neph!"
Sunny shouted before grabbing her and jumping down. Following his command she held on to his shoulders before summoning a bow to shoot at any falling debris aiming at them. Eventually, they reached ground level as they sprinted towards the exit as debris fell around them. The audience including Cassie and Effie tensed in front of the action as the Spire gave in a few meters before they reached the exit. The Spire let out a huge crackling sound before the entire structure collapsed and dust covered the entire scene.
There were a few gasped and shocked expressions as even someone passed out. But then a white flame appeared followed by a hand, then an arm, and eventually a paled woman. The crowd roared as Nephis cleared the rubble next to her showing an even paler man next to her before reaching out her hand.
"Looks like we live", Sunny said as he accepted her offer and pulled himself up with her hand.
"Yeah...and thank you, Sunny, for staying with me. You have no idea how much it means to me and how much easier it'll be to not have to be alone."
"You don't have to thank me and I promise you from now on you'll never be alone. I'll always be by your side through the highs and lows from now on. I'm staying with you, Nephis."
Nephis let out a small smile, which Cassie thought would be in her character. 'After all, Nephis is nothing but thankful especially since they'll have each other. Though the true events of what happened and WHY is not as happy as shown...'
"So what now Nephis?"
"Now...we go back and make a new plan to escape as promised, together."
Nephis squeezed Sunny's hand, still holding it from earlier. Sunny smiled as they both turned towards the dark city and started the long walk back. The screen faded into darkness as the fake sun gave out its last dying breath.
Applause then rang out as the crowd clapped loudly.
Through it all, Cassie clapped as a single tear dropped under her mask and a single thought formed, 'absolute cinema.'