Kane, still lying on the rugged ground, his body a symphony of aches and newly mended bones, felt a sudden thought strike him with crystalline clarity: 'I need to check the runes. It seems I acquired a new Memory from that fight.' With a mental command, he summoned his Runes, the ethereal characters shimmering into existence before his eyes.
Name: Kane
True Name: Deputy of Heaven
Rank: Dreamer
Rebirth Cores: [36/1000]
'I need to fill up this counter fast,' he thought, a renewed sense of purpose invigorating him despite his fatigue. His gaze then shifted to his list of Memories, now longer by one.
Memories: [Silver Plates] [The Ultimate Defiance] [A Cruffle Mask]
He focused on the newest acquisition:
Memory: [A Cruffle Mask]
Memory Rank: Awakened
Memory Type: Tool
Memory Description: [A fallen sea farer mask wants to explore the sea in dive in it but caught on it. The sea allows You to explore.]
Kane pondered the description for a moment, a flicker of intrigue in his eyes. 'This Memory seems to enable me to breathe underwater,' he concluded. 'A useful tool, given how unpredictable this Dream Realm's sea is.'
He then called out to Nephis, his voice still a little hoarse, "Nephis, I got a Memory!" Now, all three of them—Nephis, Sunny, and Cassie—were looking at him with a mixture of shock and disbelief. A tangible sense of excitement permeated the air; a memory drought was over, a rare occurrence in this desolate realm.
Nephis, her usual composure momentarily broken, asked, "Is it an armor? A new piece of defense?" Kane, however, shook his head. "Unlucky, no," he replied, a hint of disappointment in his voice. "It's a mask that enables underwater breathing. Do you need it? It might be useful for you." Nephis thought for a moment, her brow furrowed in consideration. "No need," she finally said, her gaze returning to the murky waters below. Kane nodded, accepting her decision, and waited.
Suddenly, Sunny moaned, a low sound of discomfort, and rolled over onto his stomach, then slowly pushed himself up to a standing position, his movements stiff. Nephis turned her head, her gaze sharp and questioning. "What is it?" she asked, her voice low. He grimaced, a troubled expression on his face. "I don't know yet. Something feels wrong. A premonition." Cassie shivered, her small form instinctively drawing closer to Nephis, sensing the unease that permeated the air.
Kane immediately went near Sunny and switched to use his Aspect Vision, his perception expanding to encompass the hidden energies of their surroundings. Following his shadow's warning, Sunny and Kane both looked around, their eyes intently searching for any sign of danger that might justify Sunny's unsettling feeling. Even with Kane's enhanced vision, he couldn't see anything out of place. The upper part of the cliffs was well above the stormy sea, forming a small, rugged island. Its surface was rugged and uneven, with several protruding ridges breaking the line of sight, creating natural cover and hiding spots. There was a large, open space between their group and the nearest ridge, a relatively clear area. That space was littered, seemingly at random, with piles of dirt and tall, dark boulders.
Nephis got up, her movements fluid and cautious, and summoned her sword, the silver blade gleaming faintly in the dim light. "Do you see anything?" she asked, her voice a low whisper. Kane replied, "Nothing seems off, Nephis. How about you, Sunny?" Sunny frowned, his gaze still scanning the landscape, his brow furrowed in concentration. "Not really…" At that very moment, another bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, briefly illuminating the small island in a blinding, ethereal glow. His eyes widened, a dawning horror in their depths.
Kane saw Sunny become utterly shocked, his body tensing, and a clear look of fear etched on his face. It seemed the four humans were not the only ones who had thought of taking shelter from the dark, raging sea on these cliffs. Sunny trembled, a shiver running down his spine. These cliffs, their supposed sanctuary, were in fact a death trap.
Noticing the sudden, profound fear on Sunny's face, Kane and Nephis tensed, their hands instinctively going to their weapons. "Sunny?" Nephis whispered, her voice laced with concern. He slowly turned his head towards them, his eyes wide, and whispered, "Don't speak. Don't move. Just… stay where you are. Whatever you do, don't make a sound." She followed his instructions without asking for the reason, her trust in his senses absolute. Cassie did the same, her body rigid, her blind eyes fixed on an unseen horror. However, a silent question, a desperate plea for understanding, appeared on her pale face.
Sunny then gestured to Kane to follow him, his movements slow and deliberate, and gestured towards the seemingly harmless, lying scavengers. Kane's eyes widened in realization as he finally understood. The tall boulders surrounding them were massive and irregularly shaped. They were black in color and utterly motionless… that's why Sunny had not recognized them for what they were at first glance, camouflaged perfectly against the dark rock and mud. All around them, scavengers, massive, chitinous beasts, were silently lying on the ground, their forms indistinguishable from the boulders. Sunny froze, suddenly consumed by terror, a primal fear seizing his heart. The hairs on the back of his neck bristled and stood up on ends. One, two, three… he lost count because of panic and gritted his teeth. Seven… no, eight of them. But Kane, using his mind-soul vision, found out that there was no mind and no soul within these creatures. They were dead. Kane thought, 'They are dead, but what killed them? What kind of monster is powerful enough to dispatch eight scavengers so silently, so completely?' Kane whispered to Sunny, his voice barely audible, "They are dead, Sunny. All of them." Sunny was shocked, his eyes wide. "Are you sure?" he whispered back, disbelief in his tone.
Kane spoke, "Yeah, I'm sure. There's no mind firing at all, only an empty shell." After some meticulous spying, carefully observing the area from their hidden vantage point, they found the culprit: a large monster, a dark silhouette outlined against the rocks. It was much larger than the scavengers, easily twice their size, with jagged spikes growing out of its thick carapace, giving it a truly menacing appearance. Its chitin was black and crimson, like an ancient armor splattered with fresh blood, a terrifying mosaic of death. Instead of the familiar pincers of the scavengers, two terrifying bone scythes were protruding from the joints of its arms, gleaming ominously in the dim light. Kane thought, 'He is the culprit, huh? The one responsible for this massacre.' With their information gathered, they quietly returned to Nephis and Cassie.
A couple of minutes later, Kane returned to Nephis and Cassie. The girls were tense and nervous, their faces pale, waiting anxiously for his return in the encroaching darkness. Before coming out of the shadows, Sunny let them know that he and Kane were approaching, a subtle rustle or whisper that allowed them to lower their guards. Nephis moved, lowering her sword a little, her hand still resting on the hilt. Her face was a little grim, etched with concern. "What is the situation?" she said, careful to keep her voice low, almost a whisper. Sunny and Kane slowly exhaled, a collective sigh of relief, finally feeling a bit safer now that they were back with the group. "There are eight scavengers around us. But they're all dead. Completely lifeless," Sunny reported, his voice still low. "The killer is one of those big monsters we saw earlier, the thing with the crimson pattern on its carapace and terrifying scythes instead of pincers. It's hiding from the storm beneath a stone ridge not far from here, waiting it out."
A bolt of lightning flashed, illuminating everything around them in a blinding, stark white. In its aftermath, it looked as though two white sparks ignited in Changing Star's eyes, reflecting the electric discharge. Soon, the reflection was gone, leaving her eyes grey and inscrutable again, their depth unreadable. She tilted her head and whispered, as though talking to herself, her voice barely audible, "An Awakened monster."
Sunny licked his lips, a nervous habit. "Yeah. So, what should we do? Do we try to bypass it, or…?" Nephis thought for a while, leaning on her sword, her gaze distant as she weighed their options. Then, she looked at him, her eyes resolute, and said, her voice firm, "Kill it."
Kane thought, 'Dude, when did she become the leader of the group? Shouldn't you have asked me for my opinion, given my experience?' Sunny stared at her, utterly lost for words, his mouth agape. Finally, he collected himself, forcing his mind to function, and said the first thing that came to his mind, "Are you nuts?" The idea of fighting that thing, a monster that had effortlessly dispatched eight scavengers, was pretty ridiculous, if not completely insane. Realizing that his words might have sounded a bit rude, he cleared his throat and added, "I mean… have you really thought this through? How are we supposed to kill that monstrosity? It's clearly far beyond our current capabilities."
Nephis slowly inhaled, a deep, measured breath that betrayed no fear. "It's not a question of thinking things through," she stated, her voice unwavering. "We simply have no choice." She glanced at Cassie, who was listening to them with a pale, anxious face, her sightless eyes wide with concern, and explained her reasoning: "We can't leave these cliffs before morning; the storm and the rising sea make it impossible. And neither can the monster. However, once the sun rises, it will easily see us and attack. Then, our only advantage—the element of surprise, the cover of darkness—will be gone. If we have to fight it anyway, it's better to be the ones initiating the fight, to catch it off guard." Changing Star looked around and added, "It's not completely dark yet. Although barely, I can still see well enough. Once the night comes, this won't be the case; we'll be completely blind. So we will have to attack it first, and do it soon, before the darkness consumes us completely."
Sunny shook his head, still unconvinced. "This still doesn't explain how we are going to kill it. That thing just dispatched eight scavengers like it was nothing, as if they were mere insects. We are not its opponents. We don't even know its weaknesses!" Nephis frowned, a slight crease appearing between her brows. After a short pause, she said, her voice surprisingly dismissive, "It's just an Awakened monster."
Kane thought, 'Isn't she arrogant? Fighting an Awakened monster is an incredibly troublesome endeavor. I know it better than anyone, having just barely survived one.' Sunny couldn't help but stare at her in disbelief, his mouth hanging open. "What do you mean, "just" an Awakened monster?" he exclaimed, his voice rising in exasperation. "Have you forgotten that all three of us are only Sleepers?! Dormant humans are not supposed to be able to deal with awakened beasts, let alone monsters of this caliber. The fact that we can reliably kill scavengers is already abnormal, a testament to our unique abilities!" She looked back at him, undisturbed, her gaze unwavering, and simply answered, "But we are abnormal. You, I, and Kane are not exactly ordinary Sleepers. Aren't we? Don't try and deny it. Someone ordinary simply would not have survived in this place for so long, faced with the horrors we've encountered. Kane already killed an Awakened monster, proving our abnormal status."
Sunny stared at Kane, as if Kane's very existence was proof of their abnormal status, a silent accusation. Kane thought, 'Dude, I was lucky enough to survive that. It wasn't a guaranteed victory.' He frowned, not happy about her line of thought, her easy dismissal of the immense danger he had faced. Meanwhile, Changing Star continued, her voice calm and rational: "You, me, Kane, plus the Awakened beast you have as an Echo, plus the undeniable advantage of a surprise attack. I'm not saying that it will be easy. We might die. There's a very real possibility of that. But there's a good chance that we won't. We have a fighting chance." She looked down, at the silvery blade of her sword, and added after a couple of seconds, her voice grim, "In any case. As I have already said, we don't have a choice." Kane wanted to avoid the fight, to find another way, but it seemed there was no choice, no escape from this grim reality.
In the ensuing silence, Cassie, who had been quiet all this time, listening intently to the heated exchange, suddenly spoke. "You are forgetting about the main advantage we have over that thing," she said, her voice soft but clear, cutting through the tension. All three of them looked at her, surprised by her sudden interjection, their expressions a mixture of confusion and curiosity. The blind girl turned to face them, her sightless eyes seeming to peer into their very souls, and slightly lifted her head. "We are intelligent," she stated, her voice imbued with a quiet confidence, "and the monster is not."
Kane sighed, a heavy sound. "Need not be, Cassie," he countered, remembering his recent struggle. "The centipede which I fought was smart enough to ambush us and tackle me. To be frank, I agree with Sunny's feeling of not wanting to fight, but you're right, we really don't have a choice. An Awakened monster is still a monster, a formidable foe. I may have defeated one before, but that doesn't guarantee a win against this one. We better have a solid plan, a well-thought-out strategy." Nephis couldn't retort, couldn't argue with his words, but she clearly agreed with this assessment, a subtle nod confirming her concurrence.
Sunny then gestured to Kane, a silent invitation for him to talk alone. Both of them went to the corner of the platform, opposite to where Cassie and Nephis stood, seeking a private space for their discussion. Sunny asked, his voice low, "Can you explain your fight with the Awakened monster in more detail? I need to understand its capabilities, its weaknesses." Kane explained the battle, recounting the centipede's attacks, his struggles, and ultimately, his breakthrough. After some thought, Sunny said, "Are you sure? Could you really think we can fight an Awakened monster, a fresh one, after that? Your description makes it sound terrifying."
Kane spoke, his voice firm, "I don't want to fight it, Sunny, but there is no choice. In order to move on, to reach that castle, we need to fight. And I have a question for you." After a pause, he spoke, "When did Nephis become the de facto leader here? When did she start making all the decisions without consulting us?"
Sunny spoke, "She is the best in sword skill, isn't she? So, should we follow her? Are you not okay with it?"
Kane spoke, his tone serious, "It's just, we shouldn't blindly follow someone, no matter how skilled they are. One thing I learned from my experience is to always question, always understand. I want to understand your perception of her leadership, your reasons for trusting her. That's it."
Sunny spoke, "Yeah, but it seems reasonable for now. Her plans are sound." Kane spoke with a tone of grudging acceptance, "Yeah."
After the talk, both of them went back near the girls. Kane saw Nephis and Cassie's faces; they were practically dying with curiosity, their expressions eager for an update. Kane spoke, "Sunny had his doubts and wanted to talk about whether this fight is winnable, whether we truly have a chance." Both of them tilted their heads in unison, their expressions mirroring each other, and Nephis spoke, "You could have asked that here itself. We're a team, aren't we?" Sunny spoke, "I wanted Kane's personal decision alone, since he fought a monster and survived. And he seems to agree to your decision for now." Kane saw Nephis's reaction; it was as if something about Sunny's words alarmed her, a subtle flicker of unease in her eyes, but she decided not to pursue it further. Kane, however, understood, 'Better she understand it. Better she knows that our trust isn't absolute, that we're not just blindly following her.' After some time later, all three of them summoned their weapons, the blades gleaming in the dim light, and stood ready for the battle ahead, their resolve hardened.
==================================================================
After a vote count,I am deciding for Audrey Hall to be female lead.Better to think about proper Introduction about her in the story and have Visionary has aspect related to shadow slave