The group of five advanced through the night side of the city, slowly approaching the day side. It was in that very place, just a few days ago, that they had nearly died at the hands of a Titan.
"What is the beast you said we could hunt?" asked Seres.
"It's a kind of very thin man, wrapped in bandages, with its mouth sewn shut," replied Uriel.
"Is it a mummy?"
"What is a mummy?" asked Uriel.
"It's..." Gretel began but stopped as she looked ahead.
"What is that?" asked Lycor, pointing forward.
In the distance, a creature was advancing in a kind of ceremonial march, in a straight line. It was tall and thin, with charred fur in several parts of its body and multiple wounds oozing black blood. Its eyes seemed blurred, as if in a trance.
"Get out of the way!" said Uriel, his voice laden with such palpable fear that everyone obeyed immediately.
The creature passed by them without even glancing their way. A few moments of tense silence later, it had disappeared into the gloom.
"What was that? And why did you tell us to move aside, Uriel?" asked Lycor, catching his breath.
"I call them Walkers. They are very dangerous. If you see one, step aside and wait for it to pass. If you interrupt them..." a shudder shook Uriel's stony body.
"Are they that dangerous?" insisted Lycor.
"Dangerous... very dangerous," murmured Uriel.
The group exchanged glances. If Uriel, who had faced a Titan, acted like that in front of a Walker, then that thing was undoubtedly much stronger and more terrifying.
They continued their journey, advancing cautiously. Fortunately, they weren't attacked, as Uriel guided them through alleys and desolate streets until they reached the very edge of the night, where day began. In the city of Ydrat, the sky never changed: one side remained in perpetual night, and the other in eternal day. Dusk and dawn did not exist here, and the sense of time became distorted, turning strange and impossible to measure with certainty.
Uriel led them through the day, under a constant white light. The beasts on this side were completely different from those of the night: more active, wild, and often traveled in packs.
Finally, Uriel guided them to their destination: a huge plaza surrounded by ruined buildings, from where thin, bandaged figures emerged. They were exactly as he had described: tall, with incredibly skeletal bodies, wrapped in gray bandages, and empty, lifeless eyes.
"They are not strong individually," warned Uriel, "but they are numerous. Be careful."
Gaellum unsheathed his sword. Lycor brandished his two daggers. Gretel tightened her grip on her spear. Seres drew a sharp-tipped short sword.
One of the mummies jumped at the group, but Seres easily cut it down. Their bodies were fragile, brittle, and yielded to the edge of metal.
Soon, the four began eliminating them, one after another. However, they noticed something disturbing: as they kept killing them, more appeared ceaselessly, slowly surrounding them from all directions.
Now they understood why Uriel had mentioned that their numbers were the real problem.
There were hundreds, perhaps thousands, squeezing into the plaza. Where there had once been only dozens, now they piled up in a silent, constant tide.
---
Uriel watched from a collapsed rooftop, his legs drawn to his chest, while the four fought below. He could see how desperation began to take hold of them in the face of the endless wave.
At the same time, he could feel the presence of the evil specter floating beside him, mocking him with sinister comments that slowly eroded his sanity. He felt the fragments of his mind, which he had tried so hard to unite, separating even further.
An incomprehensible fear emerged from his chest, sinking into his stony stomach.
"What's wrong? Are you scared?" the specter taunted. "You know what you must do, but you won't do it."
"Shut up," murmured Uriel.
The evil specter chuckled softly and, strangely, fell silent, maintaining only a disturbing smile as it watched the four living beings in the midst of the cursed city.
---
Uriel blinked. He was no longer sitting on the roof. Instead, he was standing, observing a beautiful and majestic city traversed by five huge lakes that converged at its center, where an imposing castle rose.
"Hey! What are you doing standing there like a statue?" said a female voice, with a playful reproachful tone.
"But I am a statue... a terrifying one, if I may add," replied Uriel, not knowing why he said that. He felt no fear, only deep calm and confidence.
"Yes, yes, we have work to do. Everyone is waiting for us."
Uriel finally turned and saw a blurred face. The only thing he could distinguish was golden hair, bright as the sun.
---
"What was that?" murmured Uriel as he came to his senses.
For some reason, his gaze turned toward the imposing castle towering in the distance, and his stone heart felt a sharp pain.
He returned his gaze to his "guests," who were being cornered by the creatures. They looked exhausted and with some superficial wounds. On the ground, piled on top of each other, lay countless thin, bandaged creatures.
Uriel jumped to his feet. Propelling himself with force, he leaped high into the sky and landed with a crash that shook the ground, cracking it around him.
From his hands emerged a sword made of pure darkness, a blackness that not even the light of the midday sun could dissipate.
He extended the blade and slashed broadly, cutting through dozens of creatures, opening a corridor for the group to retreat.
Uriel pulled them out of the plaza, guiding them back to the night side.
"This city is full of horrors," said Gretel, exhausted, feeling her vital essence almost stirring.
"Don't worry, guests. You can rest when we return," said Uriel.
The group nodded wearily and followed the stone saint back to the cathedral. Once inside, they collapsed to the ground, exhausted, while Uriel searched for water and some food.
Uriel sat by the fire. The crimson flames of his eyes seemed to have weakened.
---
"Hey, don't you think this is a good mission?" said a familiar voice.
"Mission? What mission?"
"Well, of course, eliminating the corrupt creatures. We can use that strange creature you have, without needing to fight."
"I think so. Though I doubt it'll work."
"Nonsense. It will," said the voice, before breaking into a cough. Uriel looked at the figure, whose face remained blurred.
"You're getting worse. We need to go back."
"N-no, I'll be fine... I'll be fine."
---
"'I'll be fine,' liar," Uriel said unconsciously.
"Did you just say something?" asked Seres.
"Huh? What?" replied Uriel, bewildered.
"You were talking to yourself."
Uriel looked at the faces of his guests, who watched him with curiosity, and suddenly felt ashamed.
"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
Gretel frowned.
"Maybe we can do something to gather the fragments scattered in your mind," she proposed.
"Fragments?"
"Yes, your mind is broken, divided into many fragments," explained Seres. "It's as if someone shattered it so much that it's impossible to tell which is which."
"I see," murmured Uriel, as the crimson flames of his eyes glowed with a strange, nostalgic tone. "Will it work?"
"We won't know until we try. Besides, I'm about to Ascend and become a master soon," said Gretel with determination.
Hearing those words, Uriel looked at her curiously.
"Natural Ascension? Have you turned your mind and soul into one?"
Everyone blinked, surprised by his question.
"You know the path of Ascension?"
"I don't know. I only know that..." Uriel grunted, clutching his head in pain. "Survive... Ascend... you must..."
"Do you know how to do it?" asked Gaellum, approaching.
"Y-yes... shiny stones," Uriel managed to say before collapsing on the ground like an inert statue, alarming the entire group.
"It seems he strained so much to hold onto that thought that he ended up fainting," observed Lycor.
"He said something about 'shiny stones.' Could they be cores?" asked Seres.
"It must be," affirmed Gaellum. "Let's split up and search."
The group divided and began exploring the cathedral's rooms.
---
Uriel found himself again on a battlefield, strewn with corrupt beasts cut and torn by sharp weapons.
"That was the last one," said Uriel, looking toward a figure sitting on a large rock, whose hair waved softly in the wind.
Uriel approached.
"It's really beautiful, isn't it?" Uriel turned and, for some reason, started as he saw an apparition floating beside him. Its body was small, like that of a human barely half a meter tall.
"Hey, Uriel, what's wrong? Why are you acting as if I were some kind of evil specter?"
"I-I don't know. I must be tired, that's all."
"That's weird. Stone saints' bodies don't get tired."
The faceless woman turned and motioned for them to approach.
Uriel obeyed.
"What's up, Isis?"
"I have a question for you."
"What is it?"
"If I ever become corrupted... could you be the one to give me my end?"
Uriel was perplexed. "What do you mean?"
The faceless figure didn't respond immediately. "No, it doesn't matter," she said finally and fell silent.
---
Uriel opened his eyes and observed the cathedral's ceiling.
"Good evening, useless stone," greeted the evil specter as a tremor shook the castle and cries of battle were heard in the distance.
"What happened?" demanded Uriel.
The evil specter smiled, with hands clasped behind its back.
"Why don't you see for yourself?"
Uriel jumped to his feet. Submerging into the darkness, he traversed the entire cathedral in one second and, the next, was outside, facing the scene.
A gigantic creature, similar to a three-headed dog, with a scaly body and incandescent eyes, faced his guests. It measured at least six meters in height.
Without hesitation, Uriel lunged at it, striking one of the heads with such force that it was pushed back several meters.
Upon landing, a black sword materialized in his hand, but Seres stopped him with a gesture.
"Let us deal with this ourselves," said the princess.
"But it's dangerous... you shouldn't fight it, you'll die."
Seres nodded solemnly.
"Yes. But if we always hide, we will never grow or become stronger."
Uriel looked at the princess. Those same words echoed in his mind, spoken by someone whose face he couldn't remember.
He saw Gaellum wield his sword with precision, opening a deep wound in the beast's flank. Lycor, the bird-man, manipulated wind currents to destabilize it. Meanwhile, Gretel threw a piece of parchment that, upon activation, generated an explosion of thorny vines that the creature ended up tearing apart with its claws.
"We can handle it," insisted Seres.
The stone saint hesitated but finally sighed and accepted.
"Alright. But I will intervene if necessary."
"Thank you."
Uriel withdrew to the side, watching as the four continued the fight.
"Camaraderie... how nice, isn't it, Uriel?" whispered the evil specter beside him. "Feeling that you can trust your life to your companions, and take care of theirs in a promise of struggle."
It laughed mockingly.
"Wasn't that what condemned you? A promise you never kept?"
Uriel felt a wave of sadness and rage. The specter seemed to know more than he could remember.
"Shut up," said Uriel.
The specter fell silent, remaining by his side with eyes fixed on the battle.
Uriel returned his attention to the battlefield. The four fought with all they had, and slowly, the wounds consumed the beast. With a final blow delivered by Gaellum, the creature fell dead to the ground.
Then, something strange happened.
The essence of each of them seemed to transform. Before, to Uriel, they had been weak, irregular, with limited control. Now, they became refined, complex, intricate.
They have Ascended, thought Uriel, surprised to witness the phenomenon.
He observed Gretel: her beauty had intensified, her face more perfect, her skin more luminous, as if a spirit of harmony inhabited a mortal body.
Lycor had become taller and more muscular, with an aura of constant wind around him. Seres, though externally the same, radiated an essence on the verge of completing her own Ascension. Gaellum remained inside his armor, but his presence was now more solid, denser.
Uriel approached them.
"H-how did you ascend?" he asked, still astonished.
"It was thanks to you," replied Gretel with a smile.
"Me?" asked Uriel, tilting his head.
"Yes. Although you don't remember, you told us to use the 'shiny stones.' We found a large number of soul cores and used them to saturate our power centers. We felt Ascension was near, we just needed a final push," explained Gretel. "That push came when this creature attacked us. You were unconscious, so we fought. And by eliminating it... we broke the barrier."
Uriel nodded slowly.
"W-well, I'm glad you're stronger," he said and turned to return to the cathedral.
"Uriel, wait," Seres called him.
"What is it?"
"I found a way to make your mind reunite."
"Really?" asked Uriel, a spark of hope in his voice.
"Yes. I discovered my aspect: it allows me to heal and order people's minds, helping them remember what is fragmented."
"I don't know," said Uriel, his voice trembling. "I'm afraid of what I might see."
"We've seen you fight terrifying and powerful creatures," said Seres, placing a hand on his stony arm. "You can overcome it."
Uriel looked at the evil specter, which remained silent, watching.
"Alright," he finally accepted.