I took a quick look around and sighed.
"Haa, it's already at this point? I must have been out for like two weeks... Sunny's side can handle themselves, best I go find Winter and help protect the city walls — if they haven't fallen already."
After thinking it through, I started running toward the place where I felt the most Nightmare creatures. It didn't take long, and luckily, the walls still stood — albeit barely.
"Time for a grand entrance," I said, grinning.
I climbed to a high building just behind the walls. Summoning my memories, just thinking of the Winter Beast made me so angry my whole body started glowing, like a volcano about to erupt.
I bent my knees and lunged upwards, outside the walls, into a large cluster of Nightmare creatures. Some of the stronger Awakened noticed the surge of heat and fluctuating soul essence behind them, but as they looked back, they saw nothing. A few seconds later, something akin to a meteor appeared, coming dangerously close to the walls.
"It's over if it hits the walls..." some soldiers muttered, starting to lose hope.
The Masters on the walls looked at it strangely.
"Master Winter, I feel soul essence from it," someone said quietly.
She took a quick glance, and before she could say anything, the meteor hit the ground. A loud crash echoed, a smokescreen quickly faded, and a crater more than ten meters wide came into view. Within it, the Nightmare creatures were obliterated — and a lone figure stood in the middle.
"Hahaha, just in time for a morning exercise," came booming laughter in an overjoyed voice.
After a moment of stunned silence, someone finally voiced what was on everyone's mind.
"He woke up."
"What are you standing around for? Start fighting!" I shouted, as the Nightmare creatures already swarmed toward me.
Because of the sheer number of abominations, I could hold back only so many. Even though my Aspect, now stronger than ever, boosted us and slowed them down, the walls still started to crumble and soon collapsed.
"This is as far as we can hold… time to retreat and bomb this place," I muttered to myself, starting to pull back toward the crumbling walls.
Just as I was about to get across the wrecked defenses, a familiar presence caught my senses. I rushed toward it, cutting down a few Nightmare creatures in my path, and scooped up a battered woman.
"Master Winter, I almost forgot to save you," I said, carrying her behind the secondary walls to get out of the bombing zone.
She was in bad shape — her legs broken from a fall, her body covered in wounds from the Nightmare creatures.
"Hold on a bit longer, we're almost out of danger." To this, only a weak "Hmmm…" escaped her lips.
I soon got out of the danger zone, grabbed a random Awakened by the shoulder, and barked, "Get me a healer, now!"
The man was a bit dazed, but still answered quickly. "Yes, sir!"
He led me inside a building where wounded lay in rows, with doctors and healers rushing from one to another.
Winter, being an Ascended, was a priority and was treated almost immediately, though from sheer exhaustion, she still needed rest.
After a few minutes, the sound of explosions died down. I went outside to look around.
"What a sight," I sighed.
A figure emerged from the smoldering ruins of the bombing zone — quite slim, but his wounds and the dirt on him couldn't hide his alabaster skin.
"You look like shit, Sunny," I said jokingly.
He flinched and looked up.
"You finally woke up?"
"Needed my beauty sleep."
"What happened? Why did we have to bomb the place?" he asked.
"There were too many Nightmare creatures. The walls couldn't hold any longer. What about your end?"
"Manageable," he said. "Killed a Titan, held back the Hearth of Darkness, and finally got rid of a little wretch who's been stalking me forever."
"Ha, how the tables turn. Something stalking the stalker," I teased.
"For the last time — I'm not a stalker," he muttered irritably.
Just then, my communicator rang. I pulled it out and glanced at the message.
"Come on, Master Roan wants to see us."