Currently, there was only silence that hung in the air, besides the extremely palpable tension of course. It was to the point that it could've nearly been cut, well, in a figurative sense.
Both camps, the members of the host, and all those that had come from the settlement outside, to spectate, or participate were currently looking at the two main characters in this moment, with complicated expressions.
Though, even Ray had to admit; the scene that was playing out in the middle of the throne room, right before their eyes would surely get remembered for a long time.
A mighty, but cruel king, cloaked in an armor of liquid gold, never seen to shed a drop of blood, against the last heir of one of humanities greatest past protectors, a beautiful and young woman wearing plated armor, made from white steel.
As much as this scene looked epic, though, as much it seemed comical. Gunlaug not only towered over her, he was also in his physical prime, and had a lot more experience in cutting down any that opposed him.
Not even to speak of his transcended armor.
While no one would doubt that Changing Star had the higher potential, that wasn't what would decide this match today.
Potential required a future. One, this fight would decide over.
Eventually, Changing Star summoned her silver longsword. Though, even with the augmentation of the dawn shard, it was still not on the same level as Gunlaug's golden suit.
While everyone was awaiting what kind of weapon the bright lord would summon, the king himself, seemed to want to grant them all another surprise, as the liquid gold on his armor's surface flowed down to his hands, and began forming his chosen weapon.
Moments later, a heavy, golden battleaxe was firmly grasped in Gunlaug's right hand.
The members of Neph's cohort immediately realized what this entailed; it is a transcended weapon.
Or, at least, it had the strength of one. This would also mean that it would have no problems in cutting through Changing Star's armor, at all.
'At least, the show will be interesting… for now.'
Before their duel began, the bright lord had one more thing to ask, "Any last words, Changing Star?"
She remained silent for a moment, before spitting out a single word, with as much contempt as she could muster, "...traitor."
He merely chuckled, "A shame. I heard that one before." before he suddenly exploded forward, rushing at her.
It was such a sudden change between peace and violence that many spectators took a few moments to even realize that the fight had already begun.
The king was faster, than most of the spectators had expected, only requiring a few long strides to bridge the gap between him, and Changing Star. Before he was even fully in front of her, he had already swung his golden battleaxe, with surprising agility.
She barely managed to react, twisting her body and raising her weapon to deflect the viscous first blow, before her eyes, behind her memory's helmet went wide.
From one moment to the next, the axe's shaft elongated, growing multiple centimeters, resulting in her defense being nearly useless.
Only through an awkward stagger backwards, did she escape the instant decapitation. Still, the axe reached her face, cutting through the helmet effortlessly, and leaving a shallow cut on her cheek.
Not giving her any time to catch her breath, Gunlaug literally took it, by crashing his foot heavily into her ribs, sending her flying for a couple of meters.
When she landed on the ground, rolling to once, before stopping her momentum with one hand, her eyes seemed to literally ignite with the familiar white, incandescent flames of her aspect.
Finally becoming more serious, she jumped directly back into the fight, meeting Gunlaug's onslaught, with an equal amount of fury, and indignation.
The true fight, had only just begun.
---
Their song of steel reverberated through the entirety of the throne room, with all of the spectators standing around, in stunned silence.
The exchanges between the two combatants were only growing more ferocious with each second.
At one point, Gunlaug gave up on his heavy battleaxe, and instead switched to two straight blades, which resembled long, heavy punching daggers, and continued with them, showing his mastery with more than just one weapon type.
Changing Star, meanwhile, also changed her style a bit, though hers was more minute. She merely changed the grip on her sword, with one hand now resting on the middle of her actual blade.
While this change seemed minute, the effect it had, was anything but. Due to this small difference, she had gained a lot more control over her weapon, which helped her to survive the continuous onslaught of her adversary.
Every hit of Gunlaug, managed to cut right through her armor, while every one of hers, merely bounced of the seemingly impregnable armor that decorated Gunlaug's body.
The wounds began accumulating on Changing Star's body, before eventually all closing, thanks to her aspect ability.
At one point, though, the flow seemed to completely change.
From one moment, to the next, Changing Star was engulfed in radiant light, standing there as a true pillar of light.
If before, she had been slower and weaker, then, now, she was the superior one. That was, at least how it seemed.
Following this, her attacks only intensified, and finally, it looked like they actually had an effect.
Even if they were small, each cut of her sword, left behind small cavities in the previously indestructible armor of the lord.
After that change, it seemed like the fight had completely turned, with Changing Star now having the upper hand.
That, was only an illusion, though.
It seemed, the cruel bright lord had merely wanted to give her a sense of victory, before using another of his hidden cards.
Right before another wave of attacks from Changing Star, he suddenly turned his face directly towards her, while getting even closer, in the process. The next instant, an extreme wave of his armor's previously passive mind attack targeted everything in the direction he was looking in to.
Multiple spectators had blood running down their noses, simply from being hit by the effect, even from several meters away.
Changing Star, meanwhile, was hit square, and upfront, taking the brunt of it. Even she, and her seemingly indomitable will were unable to just squat it off, and Gunlaug used exactly that opening.
Just as she was recovering from the mental attack, she felt one of the two daggers pierce her chest, and exiting from her back.
A moment later, he even began twisting the still stuck dagger, causing her to scream out in pain.
She hadn't given up, though, while being held there, she raised her sword-hand, and began hitting his golden mask with the hilt, over and over. So long, until a few small cracks finally marked the surface.
Facing this simple attack, over and over, Gunlaug only laughed, before swinging his second dagger, cutting her wrist, and with it, the tendons, which made it possible to hold her sword, on the first place.
With them cut, the silver longsword simply fell to the ground.
Once unarmed, she used her other hand, to push herself away from him, eventually managing to slide of the blade and falling to the ground, a couple steps away. Her body was once again illuminated with the white radiance, which was quickly mending her wounds.
The golden warrior seemed to nearly ignore this, and simply stepped closer, grabbed her by the throat, before stabbing her once more.
'Prepare yourself! It's nearly time…'
Gunlaug did not stop from there, stabbing her time and time again. He seemed to relish in the feeling of superiority.
Eventually, though, he paused his barrage of attacks, and suddenly looked over to the crowd, more specifically, directly towards Ray.
If he didn't know it better, then Ray would say; that Gunlaug was having a bright, genuine, and murderous smile plastered on his face, as he turned his gaze away from his adversary.
Seeing this, Ray's only reaction was a facepalm.
'Moron.'
The next moment, just as Gunlaug turned his gaze back to Changing Star, something happened that the third bright lord had not expected.
She had closed her eyes, held his right shoulder with her left hand, and then continued pummeling his previously slightly cracked, golden mask, until a small part of it broke off.
'Now!'
After that, she opened her previously clenched hand, revealing something inside of it. A small amount of something, resembling powder. This content caused one person in the audience to visibly take a step back.
Sunny had his eyes wide open, as he recognized what she was holding.
The pollen of the blood flowers.
Gunlaug did not seem to recognize it, but even then, his eyes suddenly opened wide, as if only then remembering an important advice, he had received a few months ago. But, for him, it was already too late to react.
The next instant, Changing Star suddenly blew on her hand, releasing the powdered substance directly towards Gunlaug…
What it hit, though, wasn't the bright lord, but much rather a red-haired young man that had pushed him out of the way, in the very last moment, shielding him from the sinister attack.
This sudden turn of event, seemed to surprise everyone, but no one more than two people.
Changing Star, and… Tessai.
"How… how is he alive, and back? That should be impossible…" he mumbled from his place, next to the other lieutenants.
It was Gemma that asked, "Do you know, who that is?"
Tessai hesitated for a moment, his face turning paler by the second, "...the first lord."
Those two were the only ones to speak, after what had happened, though, that changed, the instant their topic was heard by the first few, quickly spreading over the entire hall.
"The first bright lord…?"
"I thought he was dead, for years already…"
"What is going on here? Did he survive, after all?"
Even Changing Star was still looking at the red-haired individual before her, with shock in her eyes, before her gaze eventually turned to exactly where Gunlaug had previously been looking, too.
There, amidst the quickly spreading whispers, Ray stood with a slightly amused expression, still on his face. Only, when he noticed her gaze, did he finally step forward from his position, in the first row, and began walking over.
This only caused more murmurs, and whispers to occur, though, not only about what the accused was doing there, or what the supposed 'First Lord' was doing here, but also some that slowly seemed to remember who stepped out, just now.
In the crowd, Effie, Kai, and everyone else just looked on, while a few were still trying to understand what actually was going on, right now.
As Ray was walking forward, he did not offer Changing Star a second glance, and also did not walk over to her, but rather to the person still on the ground.
Gunlaug had not moved, since he had been pushed to the ground, and his one visible blue eye seemed to shake, with it only stopping, after Ray finally stopped right next to him, before he crouched down to the 'great' lord of the castle.
"Seriously, even with an extra warning, you let your arrogance win. Gunlaug, you are a disappointment. If you weren't as strong as you are, I would not have hesitated to let you die, right here. But, we made a deal.
And now, I am here to collect my payment."
Ray's words, which were tinted with boredom and disappointment, were like a cold shower to every single member of his own cohort.
"Ray… did you seriously…" Changing star looked at him, still shocked about what was happening.
"RAY! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU SAYING RIGHT NOW?! Was… was everything just a lie…?"
As soon as he heard the voice, he took a deep breath, and stood up, before turning to the owner of it.
"What do you want me to say, now? I said what I said, there was not a single lie, in my words just now. And, about if it was all a lie… Yes."
The owner of the voice, Effie, couldn't make sense of what was happening, it all happened too fast.
Also, still in the mass of sleepers, Kai, was even more confused, 'He is… saying the truth… and is lying… at the same time? Just, what are you up to… my friend?'
Ray gave her one last look, before directing it at Gunlaug, once again.
The defeated sleeper noticed it, and did what he had to do, his feelings a complex mixture of regret, disappointment, but also… hope, for some reason.
"I, Gunlaug, the third bright lord of the forgotten shore, hereby pledge my eternal loyalty to you, Lost Witness. My life shall be yours to command."
Those words, along with the currently kneeling position of him, made it clear, what the payment of the 'deal' actually meant.
Satisfied, with this part, Ray turned to Changing Star, who had fully healed from all of her sustained wounds, by now.
"As for you, Changing Star, I hereby call in; my one favor. Accept this change, as well as me, as the next, and also last bright lord." While saying these words, his voice had taken on a completely monotone and indifferent note that nearly reminded her of her own.
She knew, she needed to accept it, at least technically. Ray had mentioned how these contracts, or as he liked to call it, 'deals', would be enforced even if one party wanted to go back on their word, but she just needed to ask on thing, before she could.
"Why?"
"That is… simple and hard to explain, at the same time. Your methods are too extreme, and you know it. By this point, this hall should've originally been painted red already, with rivers of blood flowing down the corridors.
That is a waste, though. You know me good enough, to know I am not like him, I won't suddenly give up. I want to return home… No! I will return. So, will you accept this, or will there really be a need to fill this castle with blood?"
Ray looked her directly into her gray eyes, his own showing the conviction he had, towards achieving his goal. It might dwarf, in comparison to her ultimate goal, but was even stronger, at the same time.
She could feel it. Changing Star, no! Nephis, also knew that what he was saying was true.
Eventually, before even her head fully made peace with this, her hand had already reached for Ray's outstretched hand, showing her agreement.
"So be it, Ray."
He gave her a nod, before looking over to the lieutenants, "What about all of you?"
These individuals, were now put into the middle of the spotlight, with everyone's attention on them.
The first to show their answer, were Gemma and Kido, who both shrugged, after giving each other a look, before also going down on their knees.
Surprisingly, or not, the next one, was none other than the leader of the handmaidens, Seishan. She gave a small bow, showing her acceptance.
Ray had already guessed that she was the spy in the castle, anyway, therefore it was not too shocking, but for other people, especially Tessai, who stood right next to her, it was as if the world completely collapsed.
Next, was none other than Harus. The hunch-backed creepy executioner, seemed still intent on following the one, he devoted himself to.
That, only left one; Tessai.
Even now, he was showing no signs of acceptance, or anything like that, causing Ray to release an audible sigh.
"Well, no surprise there. You and I could never see eye to eye. But, even if we have our own past, I will give you a choice; Go, or fight me.
Surely, you think that I am weaker, than Changing Star, and would not even accept her, much less me."
These words surprised the giant, but moments later, a grin appeared on his face, "I won't run, if you want me to surrender defeat me!"
Ray could only shake his head, before he summoned his halberd to his side, before also dismissing his Puppet. It had done its job.
Though, there was still one thought on the soon-to-be Bright Lord's mind, 'I never said anything about you surrendering…'
-x-
Well, this whole thing sure, as hell, became longer than i planned it to be. Nevertheless, i stand true to my word, and give the second chapter, as promised ;)