The tunnel stretched for hundreds of meters until it opened into a vast, expansive space that had been perfectly preserved despite the passage of time.
As they ventured deeper into the tunnels, the path branched off from the main route. They took the path that descended further into the mountains.
As they descended, the walls began to change, revealing carvings left by ancient inhabitants.
After traveling a while longer, they came across a large mural depicting the events that created the Forgotten Shore.
The mural showed a beautiful land bathed in sunlight—lush forests, shimmering rivers, and fields of flowers surrounding human cities.
In the next mural, an object fell from the starry sky, causing a massive wave of destruction and flooding that wiped out several cities.
The next carving depicted a naked human figure at the bottom of the crater, enveloped in light. The inhabitants approached, surrounding the radiant figure with archaic clothing and armor.
Shade looked at the beautiful figure—free from the imperfections of the mundane world. It was a disturbing, dazzling beauty. What caught his attention most was that its gender was undefined, and it had three eyes burning with pure light.
In the next image, a figure knelt on the ground with a spear through its chest, wielded by the tallest human among the inhabitants. But instead of blood, True Darkness flowed from the wound.
The darkness devoured the humans, the crater, and then the world.
Shade calmly continued examining the murals until he stopped at the last one, which showed the artificial sun pushing back the darkness with a cursed seal.
After reaching another deep pit, Shade observed the corpse of a giant centipede that had long been dead.
"Is there any threat?" Nephis asked.
"Just a Tyrant, but the first lord killed it over a decade ago," Shade replied. "But stay alert."
The cohort began descending slowly through the enormous constructed pit. Sometimes, the stairs were damaged, so they had to use ropes to cross and continue descending.
After two hours, they reached the depths, observing the creature's corpse. As Shade had said, it had died long ago at the hands of the first cohort of the Dark City.
A little farther away was a campsite with a low barricade to protect against possible monsters.
Using the campsite, they built a bonfire, and Shade took out stored meat along with various seasonings to cook.
After resting, they continued their journey the next day, delving deeper into the ancient mine.
They walked in silence for hours until they reached a different area—the dark shore of an underground lake.
The river's water was black, with shreds of white mist scattered across parts of the lake.
Shade looked around, observing the elegant boat.
"What do we do now?" Sunny asked.
"Now it's your turn. The first cohort traveled across the river to reach the next boundary. But it's dangerous. We need to keep our eyes closed the entire time."
"Why close our eyes?" Effie asked.
"If we don't, we'll die," Cassie replied. "That's how the first lord died."
"You know I'm going to charge a high price for this, right?" Sunny asked.
"I'll give you 100 Nightmare Creatures to kill without you doing anything when we get out of here."
"A hundred? Seriously? I'm worth at least three times that."
"Fine, four hundred," Shade said.
Sunny smiled, satisfied, while the others rolled their eyes.
Using Nephis's golden rope, everyone tied themselves to it, covering their eyes with blindfolds and sealing their ears with wax.
After boarding the boat, Shade felt it move forward. He couldn't see anything, but he could sense the darkness and objects around him.
After disembarking on the second shore, they traveled for a while, continuously making turns as they advanced.
After at least four or five hours of walking, Shade felt the mist becoming thinner and more delicate than before.
After crossing a stone bridge and reaching the other side, Sunny spoke.
"We've arrived."
"Yes," Cassie replied.
Everyone removed their blindfolds and the wax from their ears.
Shade transformed into his dark body, passing through the rope, and observed the corpse of the first Bright Lord. Resting in its skull was the Dawn Fragment.
Shade looked at Nephis, who nodded and approached the corpse, taking the crown, which disappeared in a sea of sparks.
"Do you have it?"
"Yes," Nephis replied.
Shade moved forward, returning to his dark body after a few seconds.
"You all rest. I'll deal with the last one."
"You're doing it alone? You don't even know what it is?"
"I have an idea. Anyway, I'll be back in 30 minutes." With that, Shade disappeared into the darkness, leaving the six members of the cohort behind. They decided to rest.
"Oddball," Sunny said, looking in the direction Shade had gone.
…
Shade moved at an enormous speed, traversing the darkness. It took him only two minutes to cover a distance of nearly a kilometer through the long tunnel.
Arriving at a vast space, he observed a half-constructed statue. Approaching it, he touched the statue's material.
A moment later, he jumped, seeing the Cursed Spire Herald—a Fallen beast.
Summoning his black sword, he faced the creature.
Shade, having evolved into a Dormant Tyrant, found it incredibly easy to destroy and kill the Fallen monster in just a few minutes of combat.
[You have killed a Fallen monster, Cursed Herald.]
[Your darkness grows stronger.]
[You have received a memory: Dusk Fragment.]
'Well, that's the last of them,' Shade said with a smile. They had gathered all seven fragments in just two simple months. Their return journey would take at least another month, totaling three months.
Shade summoned the memory, seeing a shield forged from dull, matte steel—dark and unreflective.
He checked the memory's runes, examining its enchantments.
Memory: [Dusk Fragment]
Rank: Ascended
Memory Type: Weapon
Description: [Forged from a fallen star fragment, this shield contains the weight of the heavens. Depending on the heart of its wielder, it can be as light as a feather or as heavy as regret.]
Enchantment: [Indomitable]
Description: [Following its master's will, the Dusk Fragment can change its weight.]
Shade looked at the shield on his arm, surprised by how heavy it was. Without his Tyrant-level strength, moving it would have been difficult.
"I guess I'll give it to Effie," he murmured, dismissing the memory. Then he looked at the Fallen monster's corpse and stored it in his Dark Vault.
Turning around, he returned the way he came. It took him about ten minutes to rejoin the others.
Listening to their conversation about what to do with the first lord's corpse, Nephis suggested leaving it as it was.
"Don't you think Uriel is taking too long?" Cassie asked, a bit worried.
"I doubt anything would trouble him," Caster said.
"I agree," Kai added.
"If I had to bet, he's probably poking around some interesting thing he found along the way," Effie said.
"No matter how strong Uriel is, he's still human. He could die from overconfidence," Nephis said.
"It's not overconfidence when he has the power to eliminate threats," Sunny said, looking at Nephis, who didn't respond.
"Come on, guys, don't argue over me."
Everyone heard Uriel's voice. Looking into the darkness, they saw two intimidating red eyes that seemed to pierce their souls. A moment later, Uriel emerged from the darkness with a smile on his face.
"You're done already?"
"Yes. Oh, right." Shade extracted the abomination's corpse, which was torn apart, sliced, and crushed in several places, its face frozen in a silent scream of pain.
Sunny's eyes widened upon seeing the corpse—it was the same creature that had destroyed the Centurion two months ago.
"It was just a Fallen monster. I took longer on the way back. Anyway, Effie, I have a gift for you—a nice shield."
"Really?"
Shade approached the muscular woman and gave her the memory.
Effie summoned the shield, surprised by its weight.
"Was that all we came here for?" Sunny asked.
"Yes, we have all seven fragments. The only thing left is something really simple, but I can handle it alone."
"And what would that be?" Sunny asked.
"Killing Gunlaug, Tessai, and their men," Shade said with a shrug.
"Why did I even ask? Just remember our deal."
"I have a better one for you. I'll give you an Ascended memory of the first level if you kill Horus, Gunlaug's slave."
Sunny blinked, frowning slightly as he analyzed his options.
"What about two?"
"One and a Transcendent soul fragment."
"Deal."
Shade extended his hand, which Sunny shook, receiving an Ascended memory—an Ice Arrow capable of freezing a designated area of 10 meters.