The cohort remained up there, for a moment longer, wanting to calm down first.
Ray used that chance to take a look at the memory he had received, and therefore summoned his runes again, looking for the new addition.
[Crown of the silent Ascendance]
Rank: Ascended
Tier: V
Type: Charm
Memory Description:
This is not merely a crown, but a vessel of ambition forged from the echoes of a fallen tyrant's collective will. Its jagged, intertwined, bone-like spikes, seem to drink in the light of the world. Each barb is a testament to the power of the swarm, a silent promise of promised victory. It binds itself not to the flesh, but to the will, feeding on the reverence and fear it inspires.
Enchantments:
[Echo of Supremacy]: The Crown of Whispered Ascendance constantly siphons the collective belief in the wearer's power. For every individual who acknowledges the wearer's dominance, either through awe, fear, or grudging respect, the wearer's physical and spiritual foundation will receive a small, but cumulative boost. The greater the wearer's renown, the more profound this enhancement becomes.
[Sovereign of the Swarm]: The wearer can partly project their will onto their allies, creating a silent, instinctive link reminiscent of the tyrant's original pack. This allows for supported coordination in battle, turning a group of random fighters into a synchronized unit that can anticipate and react to each other's movements with predatory efficiency, as long as the king stands.
[Resonance of Conquest]: Upon defeating a powerful foe, the Crown emits a chilling, resonant hum that invigorates the wearer, restoring a significant portion of their stamina and magical energy. This resonance also broadcasts a wave of intimidation, causing lesser enemies to falter or hesitate in fear.
'Seems like it was actually meant to be stronger, than we gave it credit for…' Ray thought, as he read through the description, 'Though, if one looks closely, it gets painfully obvious that all of it depended on the swarm…'
"Yes! I finally got one!" It seemed like everyone was brought out of their silent daydreams, or thought-processes, as the sudden shout resounded.
A moment later, all of them turned to Sunny, who had already summoned his newest memory, it seemed.
A… leather purse.
Most of them were unsure how to handle that picture in front of them.
"Feeling fabulous today, Sunny?" "Aw, you really want to be dressed up now, huh?"
Nearly at the same time, Ray and Effie couldn't hold back the words that nearly burned a hole in their tongues, and voiced them with not just a little amusement in their tone.
"I'm always fabulous, ...whatever that means. And, no Effie, I do not want to be dressed up. Thank you, for the offer, though." Sunny responded in a sarcastic tone, a few seconds later.
"I think it suits you." Nephis said, in a matter-of-factly tone, which earned her a couple of weird looks.
"I think so, too, Sunny. Very Stylish, the… purse. Should we now start with your choice of clothing?" Kai added, with his charming smile on his face.
They continue joking a few moments longer, of course, mainly on Sunny's expense, before eventually gathering themselves again.
When they were all ready to head down, to get the shards, as well as Puppet, which was still buried beneath many bodies of the raptors, Ray also chose to summon his own crown, for the first time.
As it was directly summoned on his head, though, and since they were already heading down again, with Kai taking care of Cassie and Nephis, and Ray being responsible for everyone else, namely Gunlaug, Effie, and Sunny, nobody even noticed it, until the barb-like crown was already on his head, sitting casually on his helmet.
Even if they did not noticed the new memory, Ray felt the effect immediately.
It wasn't the most significant boost, but it certainly felt, as if his mind and soul were somehow getting nourished and strengthened.
Nevertheless, after he got Puppet out again, and finally was able to dismiss it, he helped out, getting the soul shards, as well as the bodies that were still rather intact, to take back with them.
This whole process took longer, than even the fight had, but eventually, they finished, and made their way back to the castle.
Their formation was nearly identical to what they had previously used, though, somewhere along the way, Sunny came over to Ray, and spoke a few words, he certainly did not expect to hear.
"I actually did not expect you to catch me. It was actually meant to pierce your leg… I just missed."
"…"
Ray was unsure how to respond to that. On one hand, he wanted to simply punch him. At least once, but he kept himself back, trying to get his temper under control, for a change.
"Well, I guess we're quit then, since I wasn't going to catch it, originally. It would've just been too much of a drag, to deal with Nephis afterwards, if I didn't…"
That half-hearted answer, merely caused a small chuckle from Gunlaug, who was the only one close enough to even hear that exchange, but in the end, nothing from Sunny.
Their friendship had been lost months ago, anyway, which Ray was fine with, by this point. He had gotten the answers he wanted a while ago, though, purely by coincidence.
The answers he had been looking for, regarding that weird connection, he felt towards Sunny, as well as a weaker version, towards Nephis, came to him, as if it had been meant to be, but it would be important for the foreseeable future.
At least not, until they finally got to the damn crimson spire.
The rest of the way back was rather uneventful, especially because Effie and Ray weren't forced through the field of the sentries, this time.
Even if the harvested soul shards were stored in both, Effie's and Sunny's bag memories, it was decided to have Effie hand them out to the hunter parties, since she was still one of the two people in charge of that hunters.
Then, finally, they arrived back at the castle, after walking through the somewhat empty settlement, which was nearly completely abandoned, by this point, with only the stations to keep guard, still utilized.
These positions weren't just held by Nephis's group, though, but also by those previously belonging to the castle guard. Surprisingly, because of this shared 'workspace', some of the previously hostile people actually began working well together, which was a very nice result.
Their group received many greetings, as they walked through the settlement, and finally into the castle again, where they eventually split off again.
Effie, along with Sunny, headed over to the hunter's assigned area, to drop off the soul shards, as well as organize their own share from the haul.
Nephis and Cassie seemed to head back to their living spaces, though, if they really did was none of Ray's business.
At that point, it was only Kai, Ray, and Gunlaug, remaining from their small hunting party, and the charming archer just continued looking at Ray with a look between amusement, and intrigue.
When Ray couldn't stand the look anymore, he decided to ask, "Is there something the matter, Kai?"
His friend just shook his head, "No, not really. Just… if you continue adding such dark pieces to your outfit, it will make you seem darker, than you are. Maybe a bit of red, or white could make a difference. At least, something brighter, would do you good."
Ray just looked exasperated at Kai, not able to believe that his friend was seriously giving him fashion advise, while they were in the dream realm, and in a real hellscape, of that.
"Sure. If, I ever get something fitting, I'll add it to my 'outfit'." He eventually responded tiredly, while doing quotation marks, while saying the last word.
Kai seemed content with that, and then headed back towards the gambling space, which was still operating, and was probably the most visited space inside the castle walls, by this point.
Sighing once, Ray couldn't help, but actually think about his current equipment for a moment.
He still wore a dark, plate-armor, along with dark shackles, which only shone a bit, if one activated their enchantment, then came his obvious, black-feathered wings, and to top it all of, the newest addition, the black, barb-like crown, resting on the top of his helmet.
Even he had to admit, it was a bit very dark, of a theme.
Getting into motion, to head back to their own rooms, to also check on Henry, Ray could only argue that he at least did not use his darkest memory for himself, but for his echo.
The armor provided great protective value, and its enchantments were also a notch above his own armor, but the side-effect, still made him shudder, by just remembering it.
Ray had only worn it once, and even then, only for barely half a minute, before dismissing it completely again.
That moment, was as if he was being eaten alive, by an enormous organism that completely covered him, from head to toe. It was rather slow, but it felt as if hundreds of teeth were grinding against your skin, nonetheless.
Therefore, from that moment, he had sworn that henceforth, he would not wear it himself. The trade-off was simply not enough, if it could be avoided.
Soon enough, they reached where Ray and Henry's rooms were situated. Wanting to notify him of their return, Ray, without knocking, simply opened the door, not expecting the sight behind it.
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
BANG
After a long moment of awkward silence, Ray shut the door, with a great amount of force, gave Gunlaug a look, which nearly completely mirrored the other ones, as he normally kept his golden mask off, nowadays.
"Well… he seemed busy, didn't he?"
"It seems so."
"Aren't you angry at him, for… you know what?"
"Not really. It was more of a useful relationship, after all. There weren't any real feelings involved, anyway."
Remaining there, in front of the doors, the two were unsure what to do now. In the end, the decision was made for them, as the door to Henry's room opened again, and Seishan walked out, in her usual composed demeanor.
She merely gave both of them a quick glance, bowed slightly to Ray, before calmly walking away.
The two guys waiting outside, gave each other another quick glance, before heading into the room.
"Well well well, you and Seishan, huh? How did this happen, and in the few hours we were gone, at that."
Henry was sitting on his bed, only now putting his shirt on, "Who knows, man. I certainly do not. She suddenly approached me, a couple hours ago, and said something about liking my scent. Then, everything went so fast, I didn't even realize it, before we were inside of here."
He then gave his friend a challenging expression, "You do remember, I still can't completely interact with other people, right?"
Ray waged his words for just a second, and since they were very fitting, there was no reason to suspect anything else. "Congratulations, then. Not everyone can say their scent conquered a princess of Song."
"…"
"…"
Those last words hung in the air for a moment, with especially Henry having a blank look on his face.
"Like… the Clan, Song?"
"Yup."
"Like… the legacy Clan?"
"Yup."
"One of the three great clans…?"
"Still; yup."
It seemed Henry's entire worldview was just turned upside down, and even further challenged. This revelation seemed too far-fetched, and yet, it also made sense. Somehow.
When the realization finally settled, Henry sported a giant teasing grin, as he looked at Ray, "I guess my conquest is higher ranked, than yours, then."
Giving his friend a deadpan look, before simply turning around and walking out of the room, Ray merely left two words, "Dream on."
This only left Gunlaug and Henry in the room, with an awkward silence being there, between them.
"...you shouldn't treat a woman like an object, to be conquered."
After those words, the man clad in liquid gold also decided to leave the room, and head back to his own, leaving a bewildered Henry behind.
"...i thought he understood humor…?"
-x-
In the next chapter, the lord of death will start, after that, basically only the siege remains... :)