The dark fire burning within the depths of the Knight's helm remained fixed upon Lauri even as the seventh bridge collapsed beneath it.
And under that gaze – Lauri trembled.
Not from the freezing Antarctic wind.
Not from exhaustion.
But from something deeper, instinctual.
For a single horrifying moment, it felt as though the Tyrant's attention was pressing against his soul. Even as the Knight and its steed finally disappeared into the ravine alongside the collapsing remains of the bridge, that terrible feeling lingered.
Lauri's breath hitched.
Then his body dissolved into light.
A radiant flash streaked back across the sky before reforming beside the Rhino in a burst of glowing particles. Lauri's boots skidded slightly against the frozen ground on landing as he reappeared half a foot in the air.
The Rhino's side door slammed open almost immediately.
Danse was the first to rush out.
"I can't believe we didn't make it in time!"
Lucky followed close behind him, eyes wide as he looked toward the collapsing bridge in the distance, while Mele and Sansa emerged moments later. Katrina stepped out slowly, and Vick's sharp gaze was set on the forces of the Whispering Legion who had already crossed the ravine.
The distant roar of collapsing steel still echoed through the ravine behind them as the last of the anchors tore from their places in the ravine wall.
Lauri remained silent for a second, his eyes still fixed on the abyss where the Knight had vanished.
Then Katrina spoke, anxiety and a sense of urgency mixed within her voice.
"…Captain… What do we do now?"
"We have two options."
Lauri slowly exhaled through his nose.
"We run, we get back in the Rhino, and we run like our lives depend on it…"
Vick took a step further away from the Rhino.
"And the second option?"
"The second option?"
Lauri leant back, running a hand through his hair to push his fringe from his eyes.
"We stand and fight."
Silence followed.
The world had gone eerily silent following the seventh bridge's destruction; the distant screams of collapsing steel were replaced by an eerie silence, only broken by the freezing Antarctic wind as it swept across the pass.
Lauri's gaze never shifted from what lay ahead.
Behind him, the others exchanged brief glances with one another.
No one spoke – no one needed to.
One by one, they stepped forward, blue sparks erupting around the group as they summoned their memories into existence, one after another.
Danse moved first, planting himself beside Lauri.
"I'll be damned if I'm the reason anyone defending the walls of Falcon Scott dies because I didn't take the chance to kill all the Nightmare Creatures I could."
Vick followed immediately after, rolling her shoulders with an easygoing expression that was in sharp contrast with the tension filling the air.
"Try not to get too cut up, everyone, because I think I'll be too busy slicing apart our competition to fix ya."
Mele and Sansa moved at the same time. Sansa was a little more hesitant compared to Mele, who seemed to be grinning. Sansa lightly punched Mele's shoulder.
"Why do you look so happy?"
Mele turned her head toward Sansa, grinning from ear to ear.
"How could I not be happy? These guys look like they'll drop some awesome memories!"
Katrina trembled a little as she stood beside Vick, despite the visible tension in her eyes; she held her head high.
"I can't believe we're actually doing this….
Lastly, Lucky joined the others. He exhaled a shaky breath before forcing a grin onto his face.
"Hey, Captain, is it time?"
Lauri turned to Lucky as the last of the Awakened's Memories finished forming from the sparks.
Lauri's smile deepened, gaining a sharp edge to it.
"Yeah, Lucky it's–"
Lauri was silenced as a noise cut through the night.
Not the wind, it wasn't the sound of more steel crashing into the ravine.
It was something sharper.
A clattering echo rose up from the ravine below, metallic and deliberate, carrying through the broken remains of the Seventh Bridge like a signal rather than a sound.
The group went still instantly – even Mele's grin faded.
As the sound only grew louder, Katrina clutched her mace tightly.
"Guys, why aren't they– Why aren't the Nightmare Creatures attacking us? Shouldn't they be mindlessly rushing towards us without their Tyrant to command them?"
Sparks began to swarm Lauri's body as he drew on the Memories he had planned to use.
"They aren't mindlessly rushing towards us… Because I didn't kill the Tyrant."
Lauri's eyes narrowed.
"The Spell didn't notify me of any deaths; the fall must not have killed any of them."
He spat at the ground.
"Ugh, damn it all."
The sound grew more intense, the clattering growing louder with each passing second, echoing up from the ravine like an approaching storm.
Until at last, the Irregulars saw the source of the noise.
The Knight emerged from the ravine.
Its steed launched upward, rising higher and higher into the air until it cleared where the seventh bridge had been entirely. Mist coiled around its armoured hooves, solidifying mid-air into platforms that it could walk on.
Step by step, it climbed.
Until at last, it came to a stop.
Hovering above the ravine, the steed steadied itself. The Knight gazed out over the members of the Whispering Legion that had made it across the bridge before its collapse.
Hundreds of Pawns, dozens of Rooks, and the two Bishops – who had earlier leapt across the bridge's falling structure to reach the far side – quickly formed into disciplined ranks now that the Knight had emerged, their movements shifted at once, synchronising into a rigid formation as though its presence alone had reasserted absolute order over them.
Lauri felt it.
His breathing grew tighter in his chest.
Raising his head, Lauri locked eyes with the Knight as it stared him down.
'This guy. I haven't even done anything to him yet, and he's already trying to pick a fight with me… Wait, don't tell me, is he mad at me for dropping him and his siege engines into a deep, deep hole?'
Despite himself, Lauri found himself smiling.
The Knight's steed began its descent from the sky, lowering itself slowly, deliberately. Lower and lower it moved, as it descended, a break opened in the cloud cover above. Pale moonlight spilled through, illuminating the scene below.
The Knight and its Whispering Legion were cast in a cold, ghostly glow, their formation revealed in stark contrast against the darkness of the Antarctic night.
'Great, looks like I'm fighting the Tyrant anyway.'
Lauri's Memories finished summoning at that moment.
His white chitinous armour, [Her Aegis], was overlaid with [Partitioner's Relief] – a soft golden veil that wrapped around his form like a cloak, conforming tightly to his body while still extending slightly beyond his silhouette. In his hand rested [Hailrend], a cutlass forged from dark ice.
His fingers tightened around its dark wooden hilt, the cold weight of the blade steady and familiar in his grasp.
'Alright, let's see what the Knight has in store for us.'
Lauri's gaze shifted, not in any particular direction; it was more subtle, as he looked into the darkness residing within the souls of the Whispering Legion.
He spoke his findings aloud.
"The Pawns are Awakened Monsters, the Rooks are Awakened Demons, the Bishops are Fallen Devils…"
'Ah, right, I never thought about what rank the Knight's horse is.'
As the Knight's steed landed atop the snowy ground between the ranks of the Whispering Legion, Lauri's eyes focused on it.
"The horse is also a Fallen Devil. I guess that explains its ability to manipulate the mist and make platforms out of it. And right, of course, the Knight is a Tyrant, those are five cores if I've ever seen them…
Lauri's voice caught in his throat as he choked on his words.
"Wait–"
Lauri's entire body froze as he looked upon the Knight.
"That, that can't be right–"
Gazing into the depths of the Knight's soul, Lauri found he was unable to look away.
'That, what is that doing here? This– this doesn't make any sense. The Fallen Titan that was destroyed by the Saints during the Whispering Legion's first appearance in Antarctica, it was was supposed to be the strongest Nightmare Creature within the Whispering Legion's ranks. The legion was supposed to be a remnant of that Fallen Titan…'
Lauri couldn't look away from the five cores of darkness pulsing within the creature's being. Any Nightmare Creature of the Awakened rank was incomparable, and even the corruption of the Fallen rank seemed shallow in contrast, their darkness crude and incomplete in comparison.
Meaning this darkness could only belong to…
A Corrupted Tyrant.
'That's no Knight… That…'
His breath caught as a heavy understanding finally settled within Lauri's mind.
"...Is a King.'