Luna and Medici stalked ahead, their footsteps sharp with irritation. After leaving the statue, they had agreed to head straight for the Dark City. They'd even tested out Amon's new Transcendent memory along the way, a small phantom ship he had gained when he stole the kill from the Kraken. With it, traveling the dark sea was suddenly simple: smooth sailing at night, steady walking by day when that bitch of an artificial sun sealed the waters again. That rat had annoyed Luna since day one.

It had been a good plan. A sensible plan.

Amon had even been the one to convince them that entering the Dark City through the catacombs was smarter than risking the southern edge, since they had no information about it. He'd said information was power and they shouldn't risk their lives when there was a clear path they already knew about. So they agreed…

…So why was there a rusty key swinging smugly against his chest now?

The bastard was humming to himself, smiling like a fox in a chicken coop.

Luna rubbed her temples. Medici pinched the bridge of his nose.

"He doesn't care about the city," Luna muttered.

"No," Medici growled. "He just wants the Weaver's Mask."

Amon sighed at their reactions. So what if he added a side quest? It wasn't a crime. Sure, some lord of the dead or whatever that pile of rotten bones was called had almost woken up, but that wasn't his fault. All he did was use Theft. He hadn't even touched the Tyrant.

And besides… he liked the Weaver's Mask. Cool design. Not as stylish as his monocle, granted, but still. Passing up the chance to steal a divine-ranked memory? No way. Plus, messing with Weaver's plan had been fun.

…Yeah, he might've screwed the plot. But so what?

And that was what annoyed Luna and Medici.

"What about the plot?! We lose all the advantages if we screw it up!"

"Yeah, and what about Sunny?!"

Amon rolled his eyes, a smirk tugging at his lips as he draped an arm over each of their shoulders.

"Come on. Do you really think Sunny or any of the main cast gives a damn about us? Sunny loved to rant about Sovereigns abandoning the little people, but the moment he got strong? Instead of helping humanity fight the Skinwalker and the other abominations, that bum went off and started making waffles."

He laughed, glancing at them with a mischievous smile.

"Nephis? Please. She throws lives away like spare change. Didn't she sacrifice almost everyone on the Forgotten Shore to chase her goal? What makes us any different from those people? Cassie's the same. She schemed and plotted to break fate. How many people died for her plans to succeed?"

He paused. His smirk faded, eyes darkening for just a moment before softening into a pleasant smile.

"They owe us nothing. And we owe them nothing. Not to mention…" His voice dipped lower. "They left you to die, Luna."

Medici slowed his steps, jaw tightening, a shadow flickering in his scarlet eyes. The memory of Luna's broken state at the Ashen Barrow clawed back at him. For all her little "commie" quirks, she and Amon were like younger siblings to him. No way in hell was he forgiving the bastards who hurt them.

Luna, walking at his side, noticed his expression. Her own remained composed, though the faintest sigh escaped her lips.

"I… don't remember everything too clearly," she admitted softly. "Their minds were just as shattered as mine. Maybe there's some kind of misunderstanding. Amon, promise me you won't do anything reckless until we know the full story, got it? If they really intended to kill me... then I will massacre them all on my own."

Amon gave her a long, unreadable look. At last, he exhaled and shrugged.

"Fine, fine. You're too forgiving for your own good, but whatever. I'll behave."

Luna smiled faintly, relief glimmering in her eyes.

But the corners of Amon's mouth twitched the moment she turned away. His thoughts brimmed with venomous glee:

Yeah, right. Don't do anything? I'll do the opposite! Those clowns are already cooked. The instant I set foot in the Dark City, Operation PTSD goes live. Let's drag this boring, unoriginal era straight into a glorious age of slander.

After leaving the lazy pile of bones behind, the three of them pressed deeper into the catacombs. The ceiling hung low, dripping with black water that fell into the endless sea below. Amon's eyes swept over the drowned caverns, curiosity gleaming despite the suffocating dark.

But before he could satisfy his curiosity, he heard the sound of bones clinking, scraping against stone. Countless skeletons that lay lifeless on the cold floor slowly rose, grabbing weapons and reforming.

Their skulls snapped back toward them, and then they started advancing, ready to massacre all who disturbed their lord's slumber and add them to their growing ranks.

Luna, who heard the sound first, grimaced. She lingered a moment, then spoke with a tired sigh.

"I'll take their hits. Medici, break through them. Amon, cover our backs."

Medici said nothing, white sparks flaring in his palms as the Dusk Shard blossomed into a radiant shield. Then flames formed from his palm and took the shape of a spear. Beside him, Luna's flesh hardened, her jaw tightening at the thought of a battle with no corpses to absorb to regain her strength. They were stronger than before, sure. They had formed monster cores and refined their abilities, but their stamina was still their weakest link. Against a horde, that was lethal.

While they got into position, the skeletons clattered forward in a wave, only to suddenly collapse, one after another. Ribs cracked against stone, skulls rolled across the floor, weapons clanged uselessly against the ground. In seconds, the horde that had been ready to rip them apart lay sprawled at Amon's feet like discarded dolls.

Luna blinked, then gave him a dumbfounded glare before her eyes widened in realization… Hmm. Yes, I see. I don't get what happened at all.

Amon tilted his head, feigning innocence.

"Sup?"

"The fuck you mean sup?!" she snapped. "What did you do?"

Grinning, Amon strolled past the heap of bones with his hands clasped behind his back, as if out for a casual evening walk.

"Skeletons aren't living beings but objects without souls. They lack the mystical characteristics of memories as well, which means…" He spread his arms theatrically. "I can steal them straight from the Lord of the Dead itself."

Medici's eyebrow twitched. Luna just gave him a flat look.

Amon paused, their silence gnawing at his smugness. His grin faltered into a frown, then warped into indignation.

"Hey! I told you the catacombs were the smarter route for a reason! It's not like all I think about is stealing..."

He blinked at the skeletal remains around them. "…Okay, maybe I do think about stealing. And yes, I stole skeletons while plotting to swipe the Weaver's Mask. But that doesn't mean I didn't have a plan!"

Medici pinched the bridge of his nose. Luna sighed. Still, both looked quietly relieved. It was better to endure Amon's shameless kleptomania than to fight an endless tide of bones.

Amon's grin returned as he destroyed the link tethering the skeletons to their master, one by one, until the last clatter of bone died out. They climbed from the catacombs into the city above.

The three of them stared at the bleak, ruined city in silence before deciding to climb to a higher vantage point. From there, they could take in the entire sprawl, thousands of nightmare creatures crawling through what was left of it. With Hawk's Eye, Amon quickly pieced together the layout: the territories of nightmare creatures, the outer settlement, and the glowing castle at the center.

That told him plenty. By the looks of it, Nephis had already started her favorite hobby: brainwashing people and turning them into zealots. And not even the cool kind, like Mr. K. Just bums. Pathetic, boring bums.

The Bright Castle wasn't even that bright, if he was honest. The architecture was pretty enough, and the faint glow under sunlight gave it an almost ethereal quality, but… come on. He'd been expecting a golden fortress, glittering towers, rivers of treasure. Instead? Eh. Another letdown.

Well, not all fantasies get satisfied… Stealing all that gold would've been nice, though. Forget it. Whatever. I'll find something else worth stealing later. Maybe, oh?

His eyes narrowed, remembering something very important. Aiko… and that fat guy. What was his name again? Doesn't matter. He's carrying enough memories to fill a vault… Hehehe-

A sharp smack cracked against his skull.

"Shit! What the hell?!"

Amon whirled around, only to find Luna perched on a rock, legs dangling, lazily chewing on a soul fruit. Juice glistened on her lips as she leaned back, one wide eye blinking with feigned innocence. Her grin was sharp and knowing.

"Hey," she said, ignoring Amon's scowl. "What do you two plan now?"

The question dropped heavier than her casual tone suggested.

Amon and Medici exchanged a look. For once, both of them seemed to take her seriously. Medici rubbed the back of his neck before sighing, voice low.

"Bright Castle," he muttered. "That's where I'm headed. I'll learn plenty there, sure, but more importantly, I need followers. If what you said is true, Amon, and if rituals are necessary for advancement beyond Sequence Six..."

Luna tilted her head, thoughtful. That tracked. To step into the mantle of an Ironblood Knight, one didn't just need strength, they needed people. A bonded cadre of thirty, minimum, molded and tempered like steel. The stronger and tighter their unity, the greater the chance of the ritual's success.

Her lips quirked. So that's his plan… preparing for the ritual and to start building his domain here and now. Even if the ritual isn't necessary, Medici's foresight wasn't wrong. A fighting force would give him more influence and power.

Luna's gaze lingered on Amon. He still hadn't said a word, but she knew this whole thing had his fingerprints all over it. Medici gathering hunters, the direction they were headed… all of it reeked of his quiet scheming. She waited, but when silence stretched too long, she rolled her eyes.

"Fine. I'll say it, then." Her tone was sharp, though the weariness beneath it bled through. "I'm going to Bright Castle too. Nephis already snatched everyone from the outer settlements, so if I want followers, I'll have to scrape them from the castle. I don't like it, but I need anchors."

She rubbed her temple, wincing at the dim shimmer of the artificial sun above and the endless black tide below. "This place is splitting my head in half. Not enough to kill me, sure. But what about the other regions? Who's to say they're the same? At least here, there aren't cursed or unholy abominations prowling around. They're still sleeping. But once they wake…"

Her words trailed off, frost edging her voice.

"…my sanity won't last without anchors."

That earned a faint nod from Amon. He approved. Practical, and a little awkward for her because of her personality, but she really needed the anchors most. He remembered enough of Shadow Slave to know she was right. The cursed and unholy ones would stir but not yet. Two decades at best. A short grace period for humanity to stumble forward.

Luna had only read the early volumes, and Medici? He was spoon-fed scraps from TikTok, remembering only what stuck. Amon carried the most knowledge, not that he cared much about it. He didn't share everything, but enough for them to feel the weight of the future and the fact that they needed to get stronger or die, forgotten and discarded like trash.

At last, Amon let out a sigh, took a long drink from the Endless Spring, and passed it over to Medici.

"Anyway," he said, shrugging lightly, "I don't have any grand schemes. What I want is simple. I'm planning to chase the greatest adventures out there."

Luna tilted her head, studying him. Slowly, her expression softened, a warm, amused smile curving her lips as her gaze lingered on the spark in his eyes.

Amon's grin widened. His voice grew more animated, his volume rising.

"I'm gonna gather the wildest, most reckless troublemakers I can find and form my own clan of adventurers to have endless fun!"

He wisely left out the fact that he was also going to… Well, it would be fun, so whatever.