Andel's Fall (1/3)

As soon as the words leave his mouth, Effie switches from confused, to downright perplexed.

"The Cathedral? If we're talking about the same Cathedral, then not even a thousand Soul Shards could convince me to take you there."

Wyatt thinks about this response before realizing just why Effie would be unwilling to take him there. He figures that not only would it be dangerous, but that the Cathedral's location is well outside of her usual hunting grounds.

"If not you then who?"

As Effie thinks about this, she remembers her own first few days in the Dark City and decides to give Wyatt some advice that helped her.

Not for free though.

"Is there any chance I could buy that bag back?"

As he looks between the huntress and his bottomless bindle, he decides to do some proper business with his newfound knowledge of their values.

"Perhaps. But I just paid one hundred Shards for it. Not to mention I quite like the convenience it brings."

This was a lie, he actually hated having to constantly carry it around. At first, it acted as a way to hide how many Shards he had. Now it acts as a beacon to everyone that he can't de-summon without letting all the contents fall to the ground.

"Makes sense, but then you'll be happy to know that I can refund you almost eighty of the Soul Shards. I'll even throw in a nice memory for you."

At this point, Wyatt has no choice but to wonder just how valuable this bag is to her.

'[Sunny, I need an advisor. Why is she going to such great lengths to get this back?]'

'(I don't mind you asking me questions, but don't make me your personal advisor. Anyway, you saw how much she eats. Keeping monster meat in the bag probably saves her from going into the ruins every other day. I'm surprised she even sold it in the first place.)'

Wyatt face twist into a diabolical smile upon hearing that.

'[I see.]'

Noticing his changing facial expressions, Effie starts feeling uneasy.

It's at this moment that Wyatt get on his tip-toes to get right in Effie's face while clasping one of her hands.

"Effie! We're friends right? Well then it's your lucky day. Sunny's Brilliant Emporium is having a special friendship deal, just for friends of the establishment! So what do ya say?"

_____________________________________

In the end, the deal they crafted was actually quite good for both of them.

After Wyatt completes his business in the Cathedral, he'll give the Bindle back to Effie. Once he gives it back, she gives him a cheap Memory of hers, and agrees to safe guard the seventy five Soul Shards that were previously in her cabin, along with the fifty or so Awakened Soul Shards in his bag.

"... and once again, we appreciate all customers of Sunny's Muscular Emporium."

'(I though it was supposed to be "Brilliant.")'

'[It's whatever makes the customer feel better about themselves.]'

After giving him a glare, Effie just sighs out.

"So I suppose you want information now?"

"Yeah, how do I get to the Cathedral?"

As she shakes her head, she tells him where he needs to go.

"Alright kid, if you need to go to the Cathedral, then there are two groups that can be joined. But... let me make it clear, only one of these groups is safe. At least as safe as traveling into the Dark City can be. Their leader is a short girl named Cynthia."

Eyeing the unscrupulous gremlin before her, she snickers.

"Even shorter than you somehow."

'I'M GONNA FEED HER TO SCURVY!!!'

"She has blue hair in a pixie cut and a current group size of five."

Wyatt nods, but Effie still wants to drill it into his head.

"This group is about as good as it gets ouside of the castle. Pick them. The other group is led by a Pathfinder named Andel. He can't even be considered human. He has sacrificed children to the monsters as bait just for a bit of success."

Wyatt thinks back on his memories of the Novel to see if the name rings a bell. After going bit by bit, he remembers a certain scene. It was the scene of a hunter from the slums challenging Andel, only to get swindled into fighting Harus. That, of course, led to the obvious result.

He also remembered that Andel was supposed to die by Nephis' hands not long after they arrived. However, they ended up arriving a month late, allowing him to continue his atrocious actions.

He still needed to do his due diligence however, just in case his memories were wrong. After all, it just wouldn't do to inconvenience someone who was innocent.

"Effie, did this Andel guy get challenged by a kind fellow from these parts around a month ago?"

Effie's expression turns sour as she's reminded of the man's name.

"Yes, but after Jubei's death, no one dared to challenge them anymore."

In a state of deep contemplation, Wyatt mumbles something out.

"I see"

Seeing this however, Effie almost yells at him.

"Oh hell no! you better not even be thinking of punishing him! I don't care how many Shards you managed to get im the Labyrinth, surviving inside the city is a completely different beast. You don't have what it takes to beat him."

Looking at Effie with a hint of amusement, Wyatt smirks.

"I didn't think you cared so much for me. I'm touched."

Unfortunately, Effie can't seem to share in Wyatt's joy.

"I don't give a damn about you, but if you die, then I lose my bag. So pick Cynthia's group. They can be found near the entrance of the Castle sometimes. If you get lucky, they'll be back soon. I repeat, pick Cynthia's group. Got it."

Wyatt then gives an exaggerated bow to her,

"Crystal clear ma'am. Goodbye."

As he scurries off, Effie mutters something to herself.

"I should probably start finding myself a new bag."

____________________________________________

With Sunny back in control, they make their to a bustling portion of the slums. Comparatively, at least.

In truth, no matter where one chooses to go, there is no place that has much activity going on. With most people hobbling about, trying to scrounge enough food to make it to the next day. But this area nearest to the BrightCastle has the largest sum of people.

Even a few guards can be see wandering about, getting various services from the destitute people. Sunny makes sure to keep the bag as inconspicuous as possible, even stuffing it into his Puppeteer's Shroud.

Once he hides himself in a shadow, he initiates a conversation with Wyatt.

'(I take it you don't intend to join Cynthia?)'

'[Kukuku, absolutely not, we're gonna be robbi-ahem-joining Andel, and his squad of merry men.]'

After hearing this, Sunny shakes his head. Not for long though. As he remembers what Effie said, he also feels anger on behalf of all those who died at that man's hand.

'(So what's the plan?)'

'[Well, he seems to think that naive teenagers make for great bait. We simply have to prove him right.]'

'(What does that even mean?)'

Wyatt laughs in Sunny's head. A laugh so full of contempt that Sunny almost feels bad for those poor men.

'[It means... that we'll be baiting him by acting like a naive teenager. And after he's been hooked, he won't even have the clothes on his back left.]'

'(...)'

'[...]'

'(Huh... that's odd.)'

'[What is it?]'

'(I honestly expected something far worse.)'

'[What! I'm not evil. I have standards. I might be morally grey sometimes but there are lines that I'll never cross!]'

Understanding what Wyatt is hinting towards, he questions how realistic such an attitude can be when undergoing a trial as harrowing as the Forgotten Shore.

'[Sunny. Let me ask you this. What do you think happens after a person dies?]'

After pondering for a moment, he gives his best shot at answering.

'(Their body gets dissolved and remade into materials.)'

Repulsed by such a line of thought, Wyatt stays silent for a moment. This gives a chance for Sunny to explain.

'(At least, that's what we do nowadays in the outskirts. Space is limited and no one wants disease. It would probably have been different back then.)'

In no mood to delve further into the topic, he reframes the question.

'[Sunny. I don't care about what happens to the body. What happens to the people that knew someone after they die?]'

This time, they both think back to their past. Sunny remembers his parents, while Wyatt remembers how he left his family behind.

When the pain from Sunny's flaw becomes too great, he answers out loud.

"They grieve."

'[...I thought so. So what if. For every person's remnant that enters my Soul Core, I promise to visit their families and personally apologize?]'

Shocked by such a proposition, Sunny shoots it down immediately.

'(That's a horrible idea?! Your judgment would be impaired! You'd never kill a person if you had to do that.)'

With that, Wyatt breathed a sigh of relief. Or he would've, if he was in control at that moment.

'[Good.]'

Calmy, as though they weren't discussing killing others, Wyatt responds.

'[You can live with your morals, and I won't stop you. However, it will never be me that deals the final blow to another person. I might push them to deaths door, but it will always be something else that kills them. Even if that something else is you, or Nephis, or a Nightmare Creature. Consider this a promise to myself.]'

'(So what? You're going to get us killed in battle just because of some stupid sense of honor and altruism? Did you get infected by Nephis?)'

'[Hehe. No, no.]'

Wyatts voice suddenly turns somber.

'[It's just, if I don't remind myself of the consequences, there might be nothing left to keep me from slaughtering my way to whatever capricious whim I have at the moment.]'

Sunny doesn't fail to deduce something major from Wyatt's statement.

'(If you don't want to do it, then shouldn't not killing people be a habit at this point. What makes now different from your life back in the old times.)'

Knowing that he can't tell Sunny why, he chooses to answer the question to himself.

'Because you might not be real. You might be an illusion. I might be in a coma. As long as there is still a "might", then how can you be more than words on a page that I once read.'

Finally, in a broken and small voice, he pleads to his precious new body. And best friend.

'[sunny...]'

'[...please be real]'

Although the immense weight of Wyatt's words were not lost on Sunny. Neither was the excruciating pain of the Flaw.

Still, no matter how badly it hurt, Wyatt felt as though a miniscule weight had just been lifted off of his shoulders.

He dismisses the conversation immediately after. Not wanting to think about it any longer. No time is wasted moving to the next order of business.

'[Now, we should probably map the path to the Cathedral with your shadows. So if you would...]'

Sunny chooses to respect Wyatt attempt at steering the conversation in a different direction and quickly does as he asks.

With that, two shadows are sent out to search for a path to their newest residence. One staying behind just in case.

______________________

About thirty minutes later, the sun has almost set and a small group can be seen returning to the little enclave. At the head of the group is a graceful woman in her early twenties with light blue hair.

Behind her are two men and two women, all of them sporting some shallow cuts. People can even be seen running up to them, although thats not what catches the interest of the duo. What piques their interest is a large creature, at least the size of a buffalo, being floated in front of the group on a bed of water. Clearly through the efforts of their leader.

At this point, Sunny begins calling back his shadows so that he can listen to what's happening, but it will take a bit of time for them to arrive, so he just chats with Wyatt.

'(Do you think her power is to manipulate water?)'

'[Yeah, she's a full fledged water bender. I'm hungry by the way, we skipped dinner.]'

As if on cue, their stomach begins to growl. Sunny looks down and places a hand over it.

'(Lets go see if they're willing to sell.)'

As they walk over, their shadows finally make it back, allowing them to get a quick glimpse of their conversations before they talk to them personally.

A respectful voice can be made out in the crowd.

"Hello miss, glad to see you back, do you mind if I carve up this beast right here in exchange for a piece of meat?"

From behind Cynthia, a man boisterously proclaims just how impressive their kill was.

"Bernard! You wouldn't believe it but this isn't a regular beast, this is a Demon, so don't sell us short bud. And of course you can. You've been doing it for months and your the best at it that this place has to offer."

Cynthia just looks on with incredulity as one of her squad mates is acting like he did so much to take it down.

"Wait wait wait, what are you even talking about Fel? I broke the damn thing's neck in one strike. So how are they selling you short?"

The man named Fel smirks at Cynthia and then points at himself.

"True, but it didn't die immediately, it made tons of noise. And remind me who's job it is to sneak us out when things go wrong?"

Cynthia just laughs and gives up, giving Fel his due credit. As this happens a man can be seen walking up to the group, sticking his tongue out at the pseudo-spy.

"Did your job you say? Tell me why your whole cohort came back looking like that again. Did you get ambushed by a bramble bush again?"

A slight blush creeps up on Fels face as though he's been reminded of something embarrassing. Fortunately, Cynthia comes behind the grumpy man and gives him a hug.

"Aww, but Shim, isn't that why we love you. No matter how many times we get hurt, you're always here to heal us."

"Of course, how could I possibly watch my food source die of blood loss."

Watching from afar, Wyatt is determining who ends up surviving and who doesn't.

'Only Shim was mentioned in the Novel. As a healer. I wonder if he ended up Ascending?'

Sunny meanwhile, can't possibly understand what is going on. Words are being said, but the tone makes no sense.

'(Why are they so sappy? They act like this place is some kind of vacation spot. Did you somehow infect them with your madness?)'

'[Hehehe, why wouldn't they be happy, they just caught a Demon. Remember how he once had to put in all of our efforts just to not get killed by one?]'

'(Whatever they caught seems much weaker than what we had to deal with. But I suppose I do get their excitement.)'

'[Alright, alright. Go be a good nobody and copy what everyone else is doing.]'

As they walk up to the long line being formed to buy some meat, a few hunters can be seen exiting the castle and pestering the locals. Some of the slum residents whisper in each others ear. Which can be heard due to two shadows sticking a bit away from Sunny.

"Are those Andel's men?"

"Yeah, they're looking for a sucker. Don't look 'em in the eye if you want to live."

Sunny twists his shadow around so it can get a better view of these hunters.

'(Are those who we need to go with?)'

'[Yeah, but if you want to be more inconspicuous, make yourself look weak so that they come to you.]'

'(I'm quite an expert at that.)'

As they get near the front of the line, they hear the people offering various goods and services in exchange for enough meat to get through the day. Some offers are rejected and some are accepted. Those who get rejected are usually given a short recruitment speech by the hunters not long after.

The whole time however, Wyatt is considering how inefficient such a method seems.

'Are they really back to the bartering system. Is there no reliable currency besides Soul Shards in this place.'

When Sunny makes it to the front of the line, he asks how much a strip of meat will cost. A woman from Cynthia's cohort asks him how much he can offer, but when Sunny said he won't part with anything, he gets sent away.

After watching this, a hunter quickly pounces on the seemingly broke Sunny.

"Ah, kid, I see those people gave you nothing, yes?"

"...yes?"

Giving Sunny a soft smile, he continues.

"Oh you poor thing, not everyone in this world is reasonable. Those people back there must be especially stupid."

"What do you mean?"

Seeing a chance of success, the hunter's smile almost becomes menacing before he instantly changes it back.

"Well, anyone with eyes can see your potential. In fact, you must be plenty strong already. I can tell by the way you carry yourself."

Sunny had not been carrying himself well whatsoever. He even walked with a slightly hunched back to seem as pathetic as possible.

"Your right sir, I am pretty strong aren't I?"

"You certainly are, so let's prove it. Join us, and show all these people what they missed out on."

"...umm"

Sensing hesitation, the hunter brings out his main weapon.

"I must've forgot to mention, when you join us, you get to live at Bright Castle without ever worrying about tribute. So how 'bout it kid?

As though convinced by such sweet offerings, Sunny gives his answer with a voice full of enthusiasm and resolve.

"I'll join you."

With a warm smile he calls his friend over and they make their way inside the castle. On the way back Sunny can sense the shift in the atmosphere as most eyes are now directed towards him.

Only a few people dare to speak in this now tense environment. Fortunately both Sunny and Wyatt can make it out with their stray shadows.

"Why is this shit still going on? He looks barely above middle school age. Wasn't Sir Caster going to put a stop to it?"

"Shut up or else you might be next. Besides what were you expecting? Not even Sir Caster could go against a Pathfinder. Besides, this one might live. Don't you see that armor on him?"

Soon after, they find themselves inside the cozy barracks and the hunters tell Sunny to get a good nights sleep. Wyatt not only uses this chance to think about how to fix his armor, but also to reflect on this past day.

Sighing wistfully, Wyatt sums it up in a single sentence:

'[Sunny, this has been the strangest birthday I've ever had.]'

'(So was mine, but I'm not complaining.)'

As Sunny thinks back, a smile makes it's way onto his face.

'(... Happy birthday, you unlucky bastard.)'

'[...Thank you...]'

After staying silent for a minute, the ever-present voice picks back up.

'[I think you give yourself too little credit Sunny.]'

'(What are you talking about?)'

'[Don't be too mad, but I think that I know you better than you do. And you're a far better person than you believe.]'

Laying on the bed, Sunny pauses as he feel a bit of pressure from Wyatt's flaw, and then smirks.

'(All this just because I wished you a happy birthday?)'

'[Nope.]' Wyatt answers happily.

_______________________________________________________________

Some time later, a voice can be made out in the hallway. Through the shadow, they see one of the lieutenants, Gemma, talking down to a man neither of them can place.

"What do you mean Caster quit? Why in the name of the gods would he quit after what he gave to join the hunters?"

"I'm sorry boss. I only told him that we'd be switching back to the old methods. I didn't think he'd be so stupid that he'd leave."

"Dammit Andel. Stop using these damn kids. First the Lord has us going after some fool named "Unknown", and now you mean to tell me that I have to search for a Legacy as well?"

Now sweating profusely, the Pathfinder starts stammering.Unfortunately for Andel, Gemma answers the question for him in a sickly sweet voice.

"Y'know what? Have a good hunt Andel. In fact, if you wish to keep your head, I'd strongly recommend that you have a great hunt. At least that way, your enemies will be too busy stuffing their faces to even think about you."

Deciding that arguing would not be worth it, the Pathfinder bows his head to his superior and makes his way back to the barracks.

In the barracks, Andel yells at the hunters under his command waking them all up. Except for Sunny who was already awake.

"LISTEN UP WRETCHES!!! ANYONE WHO DOESN'T GIVE THEIR ALL TOMORROW, WILL HAVE THEIR ALL GIVEN TO THE NIGHTMARE CREATURES NEXT WEEK!!!

GOT IT?!?"

As no one wishes to talk back they all simply affirm their understanding.

"YES SIR."

End Chapter 17