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There was a vast expanse of open water between the various districts of the Eternal City and its heart, where the Palace towered like a dark mass of sharp, interconnected spires. It was both radiant and ominous, tapering to a sharp point — the highest of the spires was like a narrow spearhead thrust into the black sky, its soaring form outlined by silver light.

It glanced very much like the nexus of a celestial city that used to drift in the vacuous vastness of space.

Now that the Night Garden had escaped into the circular lake surrounding the Palace, its pursuers were falling behind. The Shadow Legion received a precious second of respite.

Sunny, Jet, Nightwalker, and Aether spent a few moments beholding the dark majesty of the Eternal Palace in silence.

“T'll be damned."

Nightwalker exhaled slowly.

"Well... more damned, I mean.”

Sunny could not help but smile.

“Have you been inside before?"

Nightwalker shook his head.

"Gods, no. I've never made it this far. The closer you come to the Palace, the more of those bastards wander the streets, and the more powerful they are... and while I am just as immortal as they are, I still had to be careful. After all, | wouldn't want to end up becoming a host to the Flesh of Kanakht myself.’

Sunny nodded slowly and glanced back at the dark edifice of the Palace.

He considered the situation for a moment. They were currently south of it, separated by its looming mass from the fierce battle between the Dutchman and the detestable immortals in the north. Judging by the distant clamor, the Night Garden had reached the heart of the Eternal City first... but not by much. The wraith army was most likely only an island or two away from making its way to the Palace.

And judging by the eerie silence in the east, the mysterious third contender was not too far away, either.

‘Quite vexing!

Sunny had to make a decision, and the decision he had to make was shrouded in peril and uncertainty. There were numerous things that he only vaguely understood, and some that he did not know at all. Therefore, any choice he made could only be partially sound, at best.

To start, he did not know the identity of the third contender. Sunny could commit significant forces to facing that enemy... but killing it was meaningless, since the Eternal City would just return the Nightmare Creature to life. So, it had to be restrained, just like the fallen immortals had been.

Subduing those abhorrent fiends had already been difficult enough, though, and the thing approaching the Palace from the east — whatever it was — seemed far more terrible than they were.

Then, there was the Dutchman and its wraith army. Killing them was difficult as truly destroying his shades, which nothing had managed to achieve so far. Jet, at least, seemed to have the ability to slay the ghost instead of sending them back into the maw of the Well of Souls... or whatever that horror was truly called. But would they stay dead, or would they be revived by the Eternal City as well?

Sunny did not know, but suspected that the wraiths would not be affected by the sorcery of this sunken hell, staying destroyed forever. That was because they were not living things, to begin with... What about Sunny and Jet, then?

His expression stiffened.

There were the corrupted immortals themselves to contend against, as well. In fact, at the moment, something unprecedented was happening in the Eternal City. Its dwellers, which had always been scattered across its vast expanse, were now all concentrated in the immediate area around the Palace.

Sunny had brought every Abomination from the southern reaches of the cursed city here, the Dutchman had done the same with those who dwelled in the north, and the third contender had pulled all the fields from the east. Now, there were tens or even hundreds of thousands of them in the heart of the Eternal City. That number terrified even Sunny.

He had to defeat the Dutchman, subdue the mysterious Abomination in the east, deal with the immortal swarm, find the fragment of Weaver's lineage... and destroy the Eternal City, somehow.

While keeping the Night Garden safe. Sunny pursed his lips, considering his options for the hundredth time.

In the end...

It all came down to the nature of the Eternal City. Everything was immortal here, which meant that nothing could be truly defeated — that was the cornerstone of all his problems. So, if that cornerstone was removed, the rest of the obstacles standing in Sunny's way would follow like dominoes, falling one after another.

Which meant that his course of action was clear.

He had to stall his enemies and enter the Palace first to find Weaver's lineage. It would be even better if he found the source of the divine sorcery sustaining the Eternal City and destroyed it.

If not, destroying the city itself would suffice.

Sunny took a deep breath, then glanced at Nightwalker.

“Circle the Palace from the west and put us between it and the Dutchman's forces."

The wraith army seemed to be closer to reaching the heart of the Eternal City than the unknown horror in the east, so it had to be dealt with first.

Nightwalker lingered for a moment, then nodded and guided the battered ship northwest. The sea of monstrous abominations followed from a distance, rushing across the islands surrounding the Palace — the two vast swarms began to fuse, stretching into a long red line.

As the living ship moved across the vast lake, the towering dark form of the Palace obscured the battlefield where the army of ghosts fought the horde of deathless abominations. However, Sunny could already see wisps of mist drifting above the water and felt an eerie chill permeating the air.

Soon enough, they were going to escape from the shadow of the towering structure that served as the beating heart of the Eternal City and behold the scene of the harrowing battle.

But before that happened...

Aether suddenly let out a groan and fell to one knee. The shield of starlight illuminating the Night Garden flickered and was then snuffed out, plunging the living ship into a sudden darkness — the light of innumerable lanterns, which usually seemed bright and vibrant, felt dim and inadequate in the wake of the brilliant silver radiance. Aether covered his mouth with a hand, blood trickling between his fingers.

"I'm... I'm sorry. I can't..."

He was suffering from symptoms of essence exhaustion.

Sunny glanced at him with a concerned exhaustion, then sighed and put a hand on his shoulder.

“It's alright. You got us this far."

At that moment, Jet spoke from her chair:

"lL agree. I am pulling the plug, though."

Her voice was even.

"We had our fun, Sunny, but the Night Garden has no business remaining in these waters anymore. Now, we need to think about the safety of our people and bring them away from this mess."

Sunny looked at her with a frown and remained silent for a while.

Finally, he grimaced and turned away.

"I see your point. I... agree, I guess."

His tone was bitter.

A good strategist had to know how to adapt to the shifting circumstances. And sometimes, being adaptable meant knowing when to cut your losses.

So, as much as it pained him...

Nightwalker looked at them with a surprised expression.

“Huh? Wait... that's it? You're giving up on this battle? On destroying the Eternal City, and all that?"

That would mean that they were giving up on him, as well, but his tone was aloof, betraying no anger or disappointment. Sunny and Jet both looked at him in confusion.

After a few moments, Sunny scoffed. "What? Who said anything about giving up?" He shook his head and smiled faintly.

"No, of course not. We're just switching to Plan B. The Eternal City is still getting destroyed. If anything... my main concern now is to keep it in one piece long enough to get what I came here for..."

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