And after a while… an eternity, maybe… the trio of Konrad, Sevatar, and Sunny finally broke free of the endless mass of Nightmare Creatures.
Now, there was nothing in front of them but the wide expanse of the cursed black water.
…And the mass of the Crimson Spire stretching endlessly into the skies.
They froze for a moment, captivated by the sheer magnitude of the cyclopean tower looming before them. The spire was massive beyond comprehension, a monolith of red coral and crimson stone veined with streaks of darkness. It rose endlessly upward, as if impaling the heavens themselves, humming with ancient, oppressive energy. The crimson light bleeding from its surface seemed to pulse, alive and hungry.
Almost at the same moment, the darkness behind them was suddenly annihilated by a blinding explosion of light. The searing white brilliance cut through the oppressive twilight like a sword, illuminating the battlefield in stark relief. It came from behind, and they didn't need to look back to know what had caused it.
Changing Star and the second line had finally joined the fight.
The noise of battle changed, somehow growing even more intense. The howling of the Nightmare horde rose to a fever pitch, now tinged with something unfamiliar—
anxiety. Panic. Creatures snarled and screamed, turning their attention to the radiant figure tearing through their ranks with the fury of a star fallen to earth.
A moment later, hundreds of human voices rose in a deafening battle cry. It echoed across the shattered terrain, shattering the fog of despair that had begun to cling to the Dreamer Army. Nephis had arrived, and the spark of hope she brought ignited a blaze in the hearts of every weary soldier.
Instead of using this fleeting moment of respite to catch their breath, the human warriors chose violence. With their spirits rekindled, they surged forward with renewed ferocity. The Nightmare Creatures recoiled, some of them even stumbling and turning, as if to retreat, as if unsure.
Nephis led the charge.
She was a figure of unearthly brilliance, her blade a burning beacon of annihilation. Wherever she moved, the Nightmare Creatures died. Not just slain—obliterated. Reduced to ash and cinders by the incandescent power she wielded. Her silhouette danced across the battlefield like a streak of flame, cutting down any creature foolish enough to approach.
The second line, bolstered by her presence, surged forward to reinforce the remnants of the first line and the scattered shock companies. While the first line had borne the brunt of the initial onslaught and paid the heaviest price, the second line had been waiting for their turn to hold, to die— a duty to hold the line until the Night Lord vanquishes the dark sea.
The second line was composed of both new and seasoned Sleepers, the former bracing for impact, the latter burning for vengeance. But the true heart of the second line was its core— three elite companies of the Night Lord Legion.
These were Talos's Fifth Company, Seishan's Ninth Company, and Marvin's Eighth Company.
These three companies represented the strength of legacy clans. Their commanders came from the four greatest clans of humanity that the waking world has ever nurtured, their elite warriors forged in fire and blood over the past years in the Forgotten Shore. They had been trained relentlessly, shaped by human legacy's unyielding doctrine, and tempered in the crucible of battle. They are disciplined, well armed and deadly soldiers.
Talos, the strongest Nightwalker after Konrad on the Forgotten Shore, led his company with razor-sharp precision. His foresight allowed his weapons to strike before the enemy even knew what was coming, moving through the battlefield like whispers of death. The Fifth Company fought with a chilling unity, coordinated as if one mind guided them.
Seishan's Ninth Company was called the Handmaidens. Although all of them were beautiful women, they weren't less deadly than any other legion. Her command style was ferocious and elegant, a reflection of her nature. Her company moved with swift, devastating efficiency, their blows aimed at weak points in the horde's formation. Where they struck, monsters fell like wheat to a reaper's blade.
Marvin, the scion of Valor and youngest son of Saint Madoc, commanded the Eighth Company with fanatical zeal. His warriors, though somewhat newer than the others, fought like men possessed. Their resolve was absolute, their faith unshakable. They were the shield, holding the line against the creatures' furious advance.
Together, the three companies embodied humanity's unity and strength. Legacy clans who had once plotted and warred against each other now stood side by side.
And leading them was none ofter than the last scion of humanity's first legacy clan, Nephis of Immortal Flame, Changing Star.
All of them now followed Changing Star, not as rivals or enemies, but as comrades with a shared purpose.
Konrad, watching from the edge of the black sea, felt a strange surge of emotion.
"The human heart is truly fickle. A chaotic symphony fear and greed."
But seeing the Dreamer Army fight as one, seeing the legends and the legacies come together, his grim face softened for a moment... Only for a moment.
"In a few years, humanity would tear itself apart because of fear."
Konrad chuckled internally and focused on his own mission.
Most echoes were destroyed at this point. Only the most fearsome echoes were left. Diablo and couple of Fallen ones. They were fighting right in front of the newly formed line made of the fresh second line, remnants of first line and deadly shock companies that had retreated.
Konrad dismissed Diablo as it overwhelmed and at the verge of getting destroyed.
The counterattack was swift and brutal.
The second line hit the feverous horde with the force of a tidal wave. Talos's claws tore through the creatures with precision, his foresight guiding his blades to sever ligaments, crush skulls, and dismantle entire swaths of enemies. Seishan danced through the chaos, her war hammer cracking bone and chitin alike. Marvin roared like a beast, his golden weapon blazing with golden light as he rallied his warriors around him.
And in the midst of it all, Changing Star blazed with a fury unlike anything the Nightmare Creatures had ever seen. They surged forward to meet her, only to vanish in bursts of fire and light.
Behind them, the third line kept up the barrage even while dealing with their own problems. Izanami, Kai, and their forces fired with relentless discipline at the death horde falling from the grey sky.
The siege engines groaning as they launched their last payloads into the densest parts of the horde. Explosions of steel and blazing fire peppered the battlefield, throwing the Nightmare Creatures into further disarray.
The defenders of the Crimson Spire were being held off. Slowly, agonizingly, the momentum was shifting.
"Hold the line! Hold the line! Don't give them room to breathe!" Talos shouted, his voice cutting through the cacophony.
"Crush them! Push them back into the abyss they crawled from!" Marvin added, blood dripping from his armor, eyes blazing.
"Don't falter! Make them bleed! Kill them!" Seishan roared as she delivered skull crushing blow to a nightmare creature.
The humans were winning. Slowly, against all odds, they were holding off the endless horde of nightmare creatures.
And high above them, the Spire loomed, patient and eternal, as though watching. Waiting.