1539-1540 eng

1539 Sybil's Secrets

Sunny was in his quarters, going over the plan for altering the Transcendent charm. Outside, Fallen Grace was bathed in the beautiful glow of the iridescent water. The short night had descended on the world, shrouding the sky in absolute darkness.

In that dark hour, Cassie was walking along the corridors of the temple —which wasn't that strange, in and of itself, if not for the fact that she was alone. Usually, the two deaf guards would be following behind her, but they were nowhere to be seen.

The only thing accompanying the blind girl was the shadow Sunny had sent to keep an eye on her.

Back in his quarters, he straightened and frowned, distracted from envisioning the complicated tapestry of the charm's spellweave.

'What is she up to?'

Cassie had not given him any reason to feel worried in these past two months... honestly, monitoring her movements was an afterthought by now. Sunny had certainly hoped that it would remain that way.

Feeling a bit somber, he glanced at the motionless figure standing a few meters away. The Sin of Solace was staring at him silently, not bothering to say anything. However, his gaze expressed more than enough.

Sunny winced, then looked away.

"Don't you glare at me. I'm sure it's nothing."

He said that... but did not command the shadow to back away. Instead, he dedicated more of his attention to observing Cassie.

The blind girl certainly did not seem pensive or secretive. She calmly walked along the winding stone corridors, tracing her fingers on the wall. Her other hand was holding the leather-bound journal.

'Maybe her guards are asleep.'

Sunny returned to considering the weave while keeping an eye on Cassie.

She walked for quite some time, eventually entering the part of the temple that he was not familiar with. These chambers were used for preparing for public rituals, so Sunny had no business being there. Cassie, on the other hand, seemed very familiar with that area of the temple.

She made a few more turns and stopped in front of an unassuming wooden door. A mundane-looking key appeared in her hand. Unlocking the door, Cassie entered a narrow staircase that led down, spiraling.

Sunny's frown deepened. 'What the hell?'

She was already on the first floor of the temple. Why was there a way further down, into the frame of the island-ship?

But then again, maybe it was normal. The human cities on the Great River were kept in place by various means, ranging from sails and windcatchers to sorcerous mechanisms. Perhaps Cassie was on her way to inspect the moving parts of one such mechanism.

She descended the stairs for some time before entering a dark and damp network of service tunnels running under the temple. Sunny had not known that there were such corridors there, but it made sense. The mechanisms responsible for allowing the island-ship to resist the current had to be inspected and repaired from time to time.

Fallen Grace, especially, was reliant on such mechanisms. It was situated not too far from the Edge, after all, and so the pull of the current was more powerful here.

Cassie walked along the dark corridors for a little bit and unlocked another door, entering a small chamber.

Sunny was suddenly unable to concentrate on weaving anymore. His face darkened.

The chamber was just what he had expected it to be — it housed a complicated mess of gears and chains that spun and moved, transferring the energy from the wind and the enchantment circuits into the underwater wheels that kept the island-ship stationary. It was a bit like entering the insides of a tower clock, if that tower clock had been built with the help of sorcery.

In a sense, Sunny was looking at the River Civilization's version of spelltech.

However, that was not what attracted his attention.

The chamber and the intricate gears were what he had been expecting to see. What he had not expected, however, was that the floor of the chamber was broken, creating a rough, circular well.

The menacing hole certainly did not look like something that had been planned by the builders of the temple. Instead, it looked like something that had been created much later, and much more violently.

He could hear the sounds of flowing water coming from its dark depths. '...Why is there a well at the bottom of the Temple of Dusk?'

His shadow hid in the darkness of the underground chamber, observing Cassie carefully.

The blind girl did not seem surprised by the presence of the strange well. Neither did she pay it any attention. Locking the door behind her, she circled around the open chasm and approached the opposite wall of the chamber. There, hidden behind a throng of spinning gears, a simple desk stood near the wall, with several chests and cabinets surrounding it.

The underground chamber was absolutely dark, and there were no lanterns anywhere in sight. Of course, Cassie had no need for them. Coming closer to the desk, she lingered for a few moments, facing it with a distant expression.

Then, she moved past it and kneeled near one of the chests, placing a hand on its heavy lid. Several strings of runes ignited on the wooden surface, and the chest opened noiselessly, revealing what was stored inside it.

Sunny tilted his head, his expression turning somber.

Inside the chest... were leather-bound journals, just like the one Cassie was carrying. Dozens of them, or maybe even hundreds. There were several chests like that one in the underground chamber, as well, all locked with sorcerous locks.

The blind girl remained motionless for a while, then sighed deeply and placed the last journal on the pile.

Then, she closed the lid of the chest, kept her hand on it for a few moments, and rose.

Turning away, she approached the edge of the dark well and lowered her head, listening to the sounds of the flowing water with a distant expression.

Cassie stood there for several minutes, unmoving. Separated from her by hundreds of meters and numerous stone walls, Sunny grew tense, ready to step through the shadows and appear in the underground chamber

should something reach for the blind girl from the cold darkness.

'What the hell is that place? Did Dusk leave those things behind?'

It would make sense for the sybil who had lived in the temple for centuries to leave many traces here, including her personal records. However, what was with the ominous well leading to the dark waters?

Sunny gritted his teeth.

But in the end, nothing happened. Cassie clenched her fists, turned away from the underground well, and left the chamber the way she came.

Ascending the narrow steps, she reentered the temple proper and traced her way back to her quarters, entering them through a private passage.

It was only then that Sunny allowed his tense body to relax. His mind, however, was anything but calm.

'Why would Dusk have a secret like that?'

He hesitated for a while, then felt a cold chill run down his spine.

'...Or does it have nothing to do with Dusk, at all?'

1540 Clouded Judgment

The feeling of restlessness Sunny had felt after leaving Twilight returned. Something strange was going on with Cassie... had been going on for a long time, maybe. He was almost sure of it.

But it was the "almost" of it all that made the situation so difficult. He did not know what to do... confront her? Share his concern with others?

What would he say?

That Cassie should not have survived Twilight? None of them should have survived there, really. That she kept journals? There was nothing wrong with that, and claiming otherwise would only make him seem strange. That she was too quiet and unassuming, which made him feel as if she was hiding something vital from them? That sounded like paranoia talking.

In fact, it was — it was the Sin of Solace whispering into his ear. The Sin of Solace, whose only purpose was to drive him mad. Was he a fool to listen to these whispers?

Sunny was not even sure himself what he was suspecting Cassie of, just that he did not feel comfortable with her secrets. But...

Was it really because there was something off about the blind girl, or was it simply because he had never trusted her? Was he still secretly holding on to the grudge after what she had done on the Forgotten Shore, which painted his perception of her?

Sunny would be lying if he said that he had let go of that grudge completely.

None of the others seemed to suspect Cassie of anything, so why was he the only one looking for faults in her actions?

'Ah, damnation.'

What was he supposed to do?

Did he even need to do anything?

So what if Cassie had a pile of old journals? So what if she kept secrets? Was he the right person to blame someone for not being entirely honest?

More than that, he had always known that Cassie kept much of what she knew to herself. In fact, Sunny was the reason why she had closed herself

off, to begin with — he was the one who had told her how destructive of a poison her visions were... in the most cruel way he could think of, at that.

Her personality had only begun to change after that bitter conversation they had in the medical complex of the Academy, right after coming back from the Forgotten Shore.

Nephis was aware that Cassie knew much more than she was letting on, too. She had told him so herself, during one of their conversations on the Ivory Island.

So why was Sunny reacting so strongly now? 'Because we are so close to victory.'

Because this Nightmare was so dreadful, and its end was swiftly approaching. Sunny was nervous that something would ruin their chances of returning to the waking world, and the ominous shadow of Torment was the last thing standing between them and salvation.

Torment had never appeared before them, and so, she was as frightening as their imaginations could make her.

Perhaps Cassie was just a substitute for all that fear.

...Or perhaps there was really something ominous going on with the blind seer.

"Oh, she is definitely planning to betray you. Again."

The Sin of Solace smiled, looking at him with dark amusement.

Sunny cursed and threw a wooden tray at the sword wraith. The tray

passed through the apparition and fell to the floor, clattering loudly.

The hateful wraith laughed.

"Fool, you are simply incapable of learning, are you? Even after what she did to you, what she took from you, you are still willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. No wonder you ended up being made a slave by her... ah, and she never even apologized. I bet she doesn't feel even a little bit remorseful about her betrayal. Since she doesn't, what is going to stop her from turning on you again?"

Sunny glared at the Sin of Solace, then took a deep breath. He slowly calmed down.

"That... doesn't even make any sense. At least try to be convincing when you are spouting nonsense, will you?"

Sunny was prejudiced against Cassie... that much was apparent. Deep in his heart, he still harbored resentment toward her. He valued and cared for her, as well, but that was beside the point. Humans were complicated and contradictory creatures, indeed... just like Nephis had said, they could love and hate someone at the same time.

Because Sunny's judgment was clouded, it was easy to find fault with Cassie. But if he flipped his perception and looked at the situation from a different angle, trying to find the opposite, any suspicion that the blind girl could have been doing something to harm the cohort would crumble. It was a preposterous idea.

Almost every action Cassie had taken was for their benefit. They would have never made it that far without her. From start to finish, she had been nothing but a selfless ally, putting herself in harm's way on numerous occasions. Finding the scattered members of the cohort, escaping Aletheia's Island, surviving the depths of the Great River... none of that would have been possible without her.

So, no matter what secret Cassie was keeping, it was not something that would harm the cohort. Sunny had no reason to worry about that.

After realizing that, he felt his heart calming down.

But then, it suddenly felt heavy once again.

Because while Sunny did not have a reason to worry about the cohort... There might have been a reason to worry about Cassie.

'She's not... preparing herself for something drastic, is she?'

A deep scowl appeared on his face once again. He remained silent for a while, then shook his head.

'No, she wouldn't. Cassie might seem soft, but she is one of the strongest people I know. She's much stronger than anyone gives her credit for.'

Still, a tiny seed of doubt remained.

Sunny cursed quietly, threw a hateful glance at the Sin of Solace, and turned his attention back to the Transcendent charm.

The day of their departure was swiftly approaching, so he had to perform the alteration as soon as possible.