A/N: I'm back!
And uh
Sorry for pushing the deadline back a little....
I went drinking with friends after the first round of exams was over, and I got wasted again!
What can I say, I like to have a good time, y'know?
Anyway, along with this chapter, I posted a bonus chapter because we met the power stone goal I set.
Enjoy, and once again sorry for the wait!
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(3rd person pov)
Audun might've told Sunny a teeny tiny fib about the purpose behind his departure.
While he had gone off to train in the labyrinth, the swordsman had grossly highballed the time it would take to achieve his goal.
After only about 3 days in the caves near the hollow mountain, he had not only managed to fulfill Cassie's requests but had also managed to reclaim some of his former prowess, well, at least enough for Audun to feel satisfied.
Regardless, 6 days after he left Sunny, Audun was already back in the Dark City, hiding away from prying eyes in a rather unexpected place.
"Wow, you look awful."
Splayed out on a simple yet spacious bed, the purple-eyed swordsman shot a lazy glance at the figure standing in the doorway of his current residence.
"Thanks."
Playfully hurling the cloak she was wearing at the prone sleeper's face, Cassie stepped into the room, closing the door behind her carefully.
At the moment, Cassie and Audun were living together, the two of them sharing a room in Nephis' base, though no one besides them knew of this arrangement.
Plucking the sea colored cloak off his face, Audun let out a sigh.
"Rough day, huh?"
The oracle let out an incredibly heavy breath, nodding tiredly as she walked over to the bed.
Gesturing for Audun to scootch over, Cassie flopped onto the soft mattress, burying her face into a pillow while releasing a muffled scream.
The swordsman winced.
"That bad?"
Another muffled cry of anguish echoed in the room.
"Was it Effie?
The pale golden hair messily splayed on the bed rustled as Cassie shook her head.
"Caster?"
The oracle repeated her action.
"... Was it Nephis?"
There was a minuscule pause before a reluctant, muffled sigh rang clearly in Audun's ears.
'Again, huh?'
Letting out an amused chuckle, the swordsman watched as Cassie tiredly propped herself up.
Sitting cross-legged and wearing a rather haunted expression, the oracle began to grumble:
"It wasn't technically Neph's fault. I was just covering for her all night so she'd be free enough to 'accidentally' run into Sunny when he comes back to the Castle."
Audun nodded his head sagely.
"Ah~ Right, I forgot they were supposed to meet today."
Cassie let out another sigh, something that she'd been doing a lot since entering the room.
"Yeah, they're probably gonna have their little reunion soon..."
The oracle turned her gaze towards the swordsman, her brow furrowing as the complaints she had been repressing all day came flowing out of her mouth.
"Hah~ I know this is a little off topic, but... Since you left, the hunters have been showing everyone except Neph more and more disrespect- including me! You'd think that they'd show a blind girl a little more courtesy, but aside from the noncombatants in the outer settlement, Neph, Sunny, and you, no one shows me an ounce of respect!"
Audun could practically see the veins bulging from Cassie's forehead.
"Like, seriously, those damn hunters just see me as Neph's charity project! I swear, if Caster weren't there to keep them in line, those muscle-brained idiots probably would've kept making ludicrous demands..."
Audun flashed her a sympathetic look.
"If you want, I could find them and... y'know-"
The swordsman drew a line on his throat with his thumb, producing a rather gruesome sound to really drive his proposal home.
He had said it as a joke, yet, to his grim surprise, the oracle seemed to be seriously considering his offer.
Muttering something dark under her breath, something that Audun couldn't quite catch, Cassie stroked her chin thoughtfully.
"...Mm, maybe a little bit later. Right now, we still need them to keep Gunlaug and his thugs in check."
Letting out a mirthful snort, Audun gave the seer a mock salute.
"Your wish is my command, ma'am."
"If you call me ma'am again, I'm gonna kick you out."
"Yes, ma-... miss."
Nodding slightly, Cassie changed the topic.
"By the way, I forgot to ask since you just got back yesterday, but did you manage to find the Dawn Shard?"
Releasing a prideful scoff, the swordsman gently grasped the oracle's hand, a jolt of electricity passing between them as he transferred the Memory to her.
"It was on a corpse at the outer edge of the labyrinth."
A small smile bloomed on Cassie's face.
"Good. That'll save us a few months of traveling."
Audun shrugged.
"How many more shards do we need anyway? I've already retrieved the Dusk, Moonlight, and Starlight shards, and Effie and Sunny have the Zenith and Midnight shards, respectively."
Cassie nodded.
"The only one we're missing now is the Sunlight Shard."
Audun raised a brow.
"So after we find it, which probably won't take very long, we can storm the spire and wail on the abomination guarding the gate, right?"
Cassie shook her head.
"Not exactly. We could technically escape the moment we gather the shards and form the Oath Keys, but Neph still needs time to gather the forces required to siege the spire."
Audun winced.
"That'll take a while, won't it?"
Cassie merely shrugged.
"We've already been here for close to half a year; what's another few months. Besides, we need to give Neph as much prestige as possible before we leave."
Audun gave her a neutral look.
"Hah~ Regardless, it seems that our time here is coming to a close, huh?"
The oracle nodded.
"Yeah. I guess it is."
The two fell into a small bout of silence, the quiet eventually being shattered by Audun as he jumped to his feet.
"Y'know, since Neph and Sunny are busy right now, how about we do a bit of training?"
Ever since they formed their partnership, Audun had been subtly instructing the oracle in swordsmanship, hoping that she'd be able to defend herself if everything went to shit.
As someone who frequently nulled all his senses, Audun was more than capable of transforming a blind person into a force to be reckoned with, and Cassie, recognizing the opportunity, was more than willing to comply.
"Uhm... Sure? Could we go a little easy today, though? I'm a little wiped."
A quartet of platinum pearls manifested, clad in celestial light.
"Nonsense. Physical exhaustion is extremely beneficial for training your sixth sense. If anything, we should go twice as hard!"
The bright smile on the swordsman's face contrasted with the growing frown spreading across the oracle's face.
The Quartet of stars began to orbit the purple-eyed sleeper, one star in particular shining with incredible light.
Over the past few months, Audun had managed to reclaim another two stars, the spell granting him vestiges of his identity as a reward for reaching certain levels of prowess.
Activating the authority embedded in one of his new stars, the Star of Detachment, Audun began to drag him and his seer companion into a realm detached from the world.
Normally, one would have to reach transcendence to fully manifest their imagery, but Audun currently hovered at the apex of sword seeker, meaning that while he was able to momentarily color the surroundings with his imagery, his manifested image wasn't strong enough to override reality.
However, by using the authority of detachment, Audun was able to unanchor himself from reality, detaching himself from the world and unlocking the restraints imposed upon his imagery, allowing him to fully expand his inner world without hindrance.
Thus, a glittering twilight unveiled itself, an abyssal pool of still water spreading infinitely across an endless land while reflecting the platinum light of the ever-distant pearls decorating the eventide.
While Cassie wasn't privy to the lonely grandness of Audun's imagery, she was still well aware of her partner's retardedly broken hacks.
She drew [Quiet Dancer] from her waist, the graceful rapier vibrating encouragingly in her hand.
Across from her, Audun stood still, the quartet of stars glittering above him like an otherworldly halo producing thick whisps of pure starlight, a flexible, translucent rapier slowly forming in his hands.
"In guardia."
Cassie lowered her stance and raised [Quiet Dancer] threateningly.
"Pronti."
A small smile spread across both of their lips.
"A voi."
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(A/N: I forgot to mention it earlier, but I edited a bit of the previous chapter because I thought the end was absolute buns.
Also, this chapter is a little shorter than I would've liked, but it was also way too long to include as a segment of another chapter.
See y'all in the next chapter!)