SWNOVELXO Chapter 14: Inflatrating the stronghold
Announcement!
I changed the part where Cass, Jet, and Rain talk to "meeting the destined shadow princess." A commenter made me realize that Rain seemed too trusting and believed Cassie too fast, so I will make Rain less trusting.
Also sorry for the late update my personal life and job have kept me busy. Also I'm going on a mini vacation for two days so I don't know how that would affect the schedule we'll see.
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Sunny & Nephis vs The White Castle...pt 1!
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Two figures, one shrouded in a bright, white light, and one shrouded in deep, dark shadows. Sunny and Nephis stood together studying the fortress from the outside. Today they were scouting and trying to find a path to get the key needed to open the Gate to go further west. Of course, even getting close to the Castle has its dangers as there were tons of nightmare creatures of at least the Fallen rank. Some of these creatures were Devils but Sunny felt no tyrants, at least from what he could tell from their shadows. Nephis had long since summoned her flames as a sudden chill engulfed them when they were near the castle walls, from a fallen devil's ability they had guessed.
Once they got close enough Sunny summoned [Prowling Thorn] and slipped his hand through Neph's waist before pulling them up. 'Finally, I'm acting like a proper ninja,' Sunny thought happily as he threw the dagger and stuck it inside a wedge. They made their way up by Sunny mentally shortening the string so it was like an elevator, which he did know about. Nephis held on to him tightly as they eventually reached the top and vaulted over the wall to land on the castle wall.
'Alright step on complete, now for step two Neph,' Sunny said through ring memory, which was on what Neph called "the ring finger". Neph also wouldn't let him dismiss it ever saying that she might need to tell him something in an emergency which Sunny guessed made sense. She also mentioned hosting a ceremony of some kind when they return to the waking realm, Sunny had protested until she said that he would get to smooch her at the end of it so he agreed.
'On it,' Neph said as she grabbed Sunny's hand and activated the enchantment the necklace around her neck had. Immediately the two saw each other as a barely visible haze, and for anything except Great creatures and above, they had turned completely invisible to them. Sunny had gotten that necklace back in the dark city from a sneaky Fallen Devil that had almost ended his life if Neph hadn't come to heal him in time, good times. Sunny had given it to her as a gift since Sunny had the same ability of being completely hidden in shadows which the Forgotten Shore didn't lack in.
The necklace rope was made out of red wool and was sewn with passion and elegance like the weaves on a Memory. In the center near Neph's neck lay a white gem that seemed to shine even when there wasn't a light source nearby. It had fitted her style well and complemented her silver hair so she looked even more dazzling which Sunny had once told her, which had made her blush slightly. Neph's hair was tied in a ponytail, which Sunny secretly found hot, and she wore [Starlight legion] armor for today's mission which fitted her nicely.
Sunny and Nephis had to hold hands to share the invisibility and be visible to each other, if only barely. They had only been able to share it due to Shadow Bond like how they can augment each other with their respective aspect. They then made their way to a hatch on the end of the left side as they opened it and started walking down the old, cracked staircase. Sunny held her hand tightly because if he even let go of it for even a second the invisibility would instantly disappear and most certainly get jumped by tens of Fallen creatures.
Eventually, they made it to the bottom of the stairs and officially snuck inside the castle's walls. They wanted to know everything about the White Castle but sadly the necklace only had a 2-hour duration and needed to be charged for a day afterwards. Because of these circumstances, they planned to explore the four castle walls today and tomorrow visit the actual castle. Sunny also brought a notepad and added a mark for every Nightmare creature they encountered and studied.
Sunny and Neph moved like two silent, stealthy ninjas as they moved from corner to corner and sneaked into rooms. Most of the rooms were old but sturdy enough that they wouldn't break under some pressure. All the rooms though shared a wet, woody smell that filled both their lungs. They also were all made out of wood and so were the hallways, Sunny guessed they primarily used wood to build their walls. Some rooms had beds of the same style, color, and look while having a small desk near them. 'They look like barracks," Neph noted to Sunny as they entered one of the barracks rooms. They visited each of the beds but found nothing but broken weapons near them.
In another room, they had found an armory but it seemed it had been eaten by the metal-eating dogs a long time ago. Broken glass covered the floor as the probably once luxurious glass cases were all smashed on the ground or just broken with their contents gone. There were wooden hooks on the walls which might've at one point hung metal armor before being eaten. There wasn't much else in the room so Sunny and Neph moved on and snuck through the hallway, undetected by any creatures with the "coast clear" as Neph would say.
Sunny and Neph still moved with caution to not making noise to alert the monsters. They crouched into another room that resembled a lunchroom from the academy, except it looked like a rundown one. The lunchroom inside the castle wall was a shadow of its former self—a grim, echoing chamber tucked deep within the fortress walls. Once a place probably used for chatter and warmth for servants and guards, it now looked cold, ruined, and neglected. The wooden walls were stained with damp patches and peeling remnants of faded paint, the colors long devoured by time.
A few long wooden tables stood crooked and warped from years of exposure to cold drafts and mold. Their surfaces were scarred with knife marks, burn spots, and ancient graffiti—initials, crude drawings, and ruins Sunny couldn't even begin to decipher.
The hearth at the far end, once a source of comfort, now lay cold and choked with ash. A rusted cauldron still hung over it, swaying slightly with every gust that slipped through the cracked arrow slits pretending to be windows. The smell of mold and old grease lingered, stubborn and sour.
Chipped, wooden bowls and dented tin cups were scattered across the tables, some stacked carelessly, others abandoned mid-meal years ago with petrified crumbs still clinging to the edges. Rats had made a kingdom from it all and were scattered across the floor and room, and cobwebs strung like gray lace hung from the rafters above.
Only the faint clatter of dripping water broke the silence. It was a forgotten place, where time had sat down long ago and never bothered to get up again. It gave off a sense of dread from what used to be a place of warmth. Sunny's explorer instincts kicked in and went full explore mode, Sunny loved studying ancient ruins after, and even in the Dark City, he explored the ruins. They looked around for anything useful or gave any information about its past, but the ruins were too complicated and there was too much rubble to be able to sort it quietly. Sunny had also started to guess that all the inner castle wall rooms were the same in each one.
Suddenly Neph's tummy rumbled which made her blush slightly and she tried to muffle the sound but failed. She turned to look at Sunny who was struggling to hold back a laugh, but he was shaking uncontrollably.
'We can take a break and eat here, we still have an hour and thirty minutes of invisibility.'
'Thanks, Sunny,' Neph then held Sunny's face in her palms and Sunny saw she was conflicted for a second before bringing their faces closer and kissing him on the lips. They kissed until both of them ran out of breath and broke apart, still holding hands to not be discovered. They then started moving some of the rubble to the corner and making a blind spot before Nephis turned off the invisibility to conserve it. Sunny on the other hand summoned his fridge and brought out two well-made sandwiches made by them both at camp. He also summoned [Eternal Spring] and put it between them as they sat side by side and ate quietly with drops of water breaking the warm silence.
Sunny would be lying if he said he wasn't enjoying himself on this scouting mission. After all, if anything were to happen to them, Sunny would be able to get them out of there by using Saint as a distraction and they would need to wait a full day to recharge the invisible enchantment. Plus Sunny was a lot more comfortable when she was around wherever they were, he was sure she felt the same since she didn't mind when he was around. Since everything was going so well Sunny has started to consider this a date since they were still holding hands the entire time they ate.
'Are the sandwiches good?' Sunny asked
'Yeah they taste amazing even though if it had mayo and vegetables it would be better, but even so, it tastes great.'
'I'm glad and I can't believe this scouting mission has gone perfectly so far, and since we have loads of time left we should scout the castle town and the castle today too.'
'That sounds reasonable but we should still be careful and keep track of the time, we can only guess how much time we have left after all but we should be fine.'
They stayed quiet for a bit and eventually finished their sandwiches and sat together in silence. Neph laid her head on his shoulder and Sunny laid his head on top of hers, she felt warm and soft and her hair felt like a fluffy pillow that smelled like fire smoke. Sunny quite liked the smell and breathed it in while planning their next moves, since they had loads of time on their hands. Sunny still wanted to visit another castle wall rooms to make sure his theory of them all being the same or having the same format was true so they could save time.
Sunny turned to see Neph throwing the wrapper used to cover the sandwich into his storage memory before summoning her ruins, at least he guessed she did since she was moving her finger in the air. Sunny imagined if they were in the Waking realm having a real picnic in a park instead of a ruined mess hall. Neph's silver hair flowing from the wind as they sat side by side talking about mundane things, without worry about how they'll live till tomorrow.
'Hey Neph'
'Yes, Sunny?'
'When we return to the Waking Realm I promise I'll take you out on a real picnic, in a nice park on a warm day too.'
'So what you're saying is...you want to go on a date with me when we return?'
'Yes,' though Sunny was a bit embarrassed asking her since its his first time asking a girl out on a date, even if they were dating.
'... aren't we already on a date though? I mean I know in webtoons their normally what you described but-'
Neph paused for a moment, thinking about how she should word her next words.
'But I find it more comfortable when we're fighting monsters together and exploring than doing stuff like that...not that I don't mind going on a picnic. I just don't feel...connected with the rest of humanity so some things they find appealing don't appeal as much to me. I would still like to go on a picnic with you, Sunny.'
'I guess you do have a point, you know I might even be the same as you.'
Nephis gave him that slight look that indicated confusion so Sunny continued.
'Back when...when my parents were still around and I was at school I had a hard time fitting in. I always felt like I was missing a cog, a function that everyone but me had that made me different. They saw that difference as bad so I was always avoided and ignored by the other kids. It's funny since most of those kids are probably dead by now so I guess the joke's on them for being mundane.'
Nephis listened and when he finished squeezed his hand.
'I guess that makes two of us,' she then gave him a small smile which looked heavenly on her.
'I guess so,' he smiled at her before throwing his wrapper into the storage memory too.
They talked so more and rested until about an hour passed and decided to once again head out. Activating the ambulet and holding hands, they left the lunch room and went to another castle wall rooms but found the exact same rooms so they decided to take a look inside the actual castle. They waited until one of the knights opened the door for them and slipped out of the castle walls and finally reached the castle town.
Sunny took out his notebook once more, with scribbles of monsters and details about them he had taken while inside the Castle's walls. Some of the Fallen creatures that patrolled or roamed around the castle that he noted are:
White metal knights that patrolled the halls and outside the walls with their swords tied to their belts, Sunny guessed they were at least Fallen demons by how they acted somewhat intelligent. They were shown to be skilled and possibly on par with Saint as they defeated roaming fallen creatures that got too close to the castle gates. Their chiseled white armor glowed in the dark and seemed to never stain even if blood got on it. Their armor reminded Sunny of Nephis's armor which was her iconic armor back in the Dark City but changed to better armor from a Fallen.
Towering skeletal figures clad in cracked black armor fused with their bodies, as if they had been in an endless battle for centuries. Its skull glows with green soulfire that reminded him of Casters' eyes, and its long tattered cape seems to drip shadows instead of fabric. It patrolled the halls and more than once almost touched the duo which would've ended badly for them if it had happened. Sunny ranked it as a Fallen beast as it didn't seem that strong and its only form of attack was emitting a soundness scream that caused confusion.
Tall, gaunt ladies with porcelain skin - that rivaled Sunny's skin - cracked like marble, wore a decayed royal gown, and a melted crown fused into her skull. Her eyes were like a black void, void of any color other than black as it sent chills down Sunny's spine. It had caused them many troubles as its abilities were being able to manipulate illusions within the castle's halls, leading them in circles or showing them false doors which wasted their precious time.
Quadrupedal, dog-like beasts made entirely of rusted iron plates and chains. Its head is a gaping furnace-like maw, glowing from within. It breathes molten slag and has no eyes. It seemed to devour precious metals, weapons, and armor. Sunny knew this when he saw one of them completely devour one of the White knights leaving nothing but a white skeleton. He had shuddered when he witnessed the scene and he felt a slight shiver for a brief second from Nephis.
The last kind of creatures Sunny discovered was cloaked hunchbacks with a bronze bell chained to its spine. Its face is hidden behind a cracked white mask, and its spindly limbs end in fingers too long and sharp. It rang its bell on its back occasionally which seemed to distort time momentarily, or at least for creatures near it. Unfortunately -or maybe fortunately - it completely froze them in place as Sunny grabbed her to move out of the way in time so they were stuck in place, hugging. Sunny was a little red the whole time but eventually the creature passed them but they continued hugging for a few more minutes until they pulled away and continued moving after.
Overall, not a good chance of them making it out if they were caught in a secluded corner and had to fight.
The castle town... laid slumped in the shadow of the crumbling fortress above, like a forgotten servant slumped at the feet of a dying king. Its cobbled streets, which must've been a sight to behold at one point, were now cracked and uneven, overgrown with weeds that pushed through the stones stubbornly. The buildings leaned with exhaustion—timber-framed houses with sagging clay roofs, walls patched with mismatched wood and stone, and windows shuttered or broken, their glass scattered across the broken pavement on the street.
'What a sad sight to behold, makes you wonder what happened to these places.'
'Probably got overrun by nightmare creatures, there are a ton of them around so it's not unlikely.'
'True...'
As they walked they reached what looked like a market square, or at least the ghost of its former self. The faded remnants of a fountain sat dry in the center, its basin filled with leaves, dirt, and bones that were scattered on its surface. A few stalls stood crooked, their canvas awnings shredded from most likely the creature who thought it would make a good chewing toy. The scent in the air was a bitter mix of rot and damp earth— which was to say dirty and awful from the normal air found anywhere else in the Dream Realm.
The castle loomed above it all, its towers broken like snapped bones, banners torn and limp in the wind with faded symbols. Once, the town and castle had probably been alive—thriving even possibly— with trade, guarded by knights, filled with light. Now, it looked like a ghost land with all of it in rubble, the polar opposite from its former glory.
They went to a few of the stalls and found a variety of things, ranging from rotten food to weapons to even tools, but nothing useful. Serpent could already turn himself into many things and they had saved up enough food to last them for months, not even in weapons they lacked. They soon made their way to the entrance of the terrifying broken castle.
'This is where I "saw" the key and corrupted demon, how much time do we have?'
'I think we have about 20 minutes left, do you think we should take a look before leaving?'
'Yeah, we should be fine taking a look and still have enough time.'
Taking a deep breath, Sunny quickly opened the left gate slightly to allow them to slip in unnoticed by the creatures nearby before closing it behind them.
Once inside they took a look inside, though the space they were in was devoid of things and was just a giant room leading to a hallway. They made their way towards the hallway and Sunny took the time to look at the walls on their side. Its paint had long since faded so it was bare of color, but it still looked more structurally sound than everything else in The White Castle. Eventually, they made their way towards a large, ornate golden gate, whose intricate patterns were mesmerizing and beautiful like Nephis.
'Get it together Sunny!' Sunny blushed a little and shook his head as they made their way towards the gate.
'So what's the plan?' Sunny asked
'We stay out of sight and take a quick look around.'
Sunny nodded as she opened to door to the throne room and sitting on the throne was the Corrupted demon which seemed to be...asleep? On its neck was a necklace and dangling from it was the key which seemed to glow an ethereal light. The throne room was like the ones seen in movies, with pillars of dirty quartz leading towards the throne, the throne itself on a raised wooden platform, and a worn, torn carpet covering the entire throne room. The ceiling was moist and moldy, and the windows were shattered giving the throne room a cold, dreadful feeling to it which Sunny found ominous.
He also has a feeling that he was missing something, something out of grasp that he couldn't reach and could only see from afar but never make it out. Sunny shook off the feeling as together, they snuck through the room quietly and made sure to hide behind the columns as much as possible while making their way towards the throne. After a few minutes of carefully crouching, they reached the last column and got a good look at the creature lying on the throne.
An impossibly tall, emaciated figure draped in robes of torn velvet and living bramble. His flesh is pale and dead like candle wax, with thorned vines growing from his back, shoulders, and arms, wrapping around his limbs like armor. His crown is made of black iron and seemed to emit a sense of authority when looked at like Gunlaug's echo.
A staff sat next to the corrupted king which was made of darkened ashened wood with a dark purple pearl secured on the top of it with three branch-like fangs.
Sunny before he knew what was happening started moving towards the throne, no not the throne but the key. It was like he was in a hypnotic state but still had consciousness, he knew he was reaching out for the key but couldn't stop himself. Luckily Neph went with him still holding hands — whether from trusting him completely in what he was doing or simply not letting go of his hand — as they approached the sleeping king. Sunny then stepped on the raised platform and reached out his hand to snatch the key under its chin, with one sudden movement or mistake costing them their lives if he failed.
He reached out...
and he got closer...
and closer...
and closer...
and closer until his hand was hovering just over the key,
He slowly lowered it...
...
and yanked it hard and swiftly, breaking the key free, before bringing his hand back along with the key in hand.
'I did it!'
Sunny yelled to Nephis telepathically, and turning back to look at her...
...to see her completely visible.
Sunny slowly turned around to see the corrupted demon rise from its throne as Sunny and Neph started to run backwards. But as they reached the midpoint between the throne and the gate, Sunny felt the shadows at the corners move as White Knights sprang from them.
'That's what I felt was missing!' Sunny realized, shocked at how he missed them.
The King, who had fully risen from its throne, snapped its fingers as the White Knights then formed a full circle around the duo as they slowly closed in with the King watching them contently.
'Wait that's not a corrupted demon,' Sunny realized as they moved in, 'that's a corrupted tyrant!'
'I'm sorry, Sunny, I guess I had miscounted how much time we had left.'
Neph said to Sunny with their backs together as the knights moved closer and closer towards them. Surrounded, and with no hope of being able to escape in the way he had planned.