Standing up, he headed toward where Cassia was sitting with an expression difficult to explain on her face.
"Is something wrong?" he asked, sitting down next to the girl.
"I'm sorry," the girl said in a low voice.
"What are you sorry for?"
Cassia lowered her face.
"For being useless."
Ash didn't react to this. In fact, to a certain extent, he expected it. Although events had changed, the essence remained, and one of them was that currently the blind girl lacked sufficient determination to face life and her problematic Flaw.
"Uhm. You're not as useless as you think."
Cassia let out a soft laugh.
"I'm not?" she asked, more amused than sad, her hands clenching tightly. "You're the one who carries me all the time. If I want to walk, I have to be tied to you or Neph. If I want to eat, I have to wait for you to feed me. That's my life now. I can't do the simplest things without help... much less be useful. I'm just a burden."
Ash made a thoughtful noise.
"Cassia, do you want to hear a story?" Ash asked.
Cassie looked in his direction, or where she thought his voice came from. Her face was full of interest.
"Yes, what kind of story?"
"Well, it's one my mother told me once. It was called the Story of the Useless Beaver, if I remember correctly."
"Do you want to hear it?"
"Yes."
"Well. Once upon a time..."
Ash settled his back against the coral wall, letting his gaze drift over the corals that enveloped the Forgotten Shore.
Beside him, Cassie had turned her body slightly, her blind eyes looking in his direction with an attention he could almost physically feel.
—In a great forest, so vast that no animal had ever managed to traverse it completely, lived a beaver. He wasn't the strongest, nor the fastest, nor the smartest. But he was diligent. Every morning, before the sun kissed the treetops, the beaver was already working. He gnawed logs, dragged branches, reinforced his dam. And when the work was done, he would gather with the other animals. He chatted with the ducks at the pond, shared stories with the rabbits in the meadow, listened to the birds' songs in the branches. He had many friends. Or at least, that's what he believed.
Ash paused, listening to the faint murmur of the slightly salty wind left by the dark sea.
—One day, the wise one of the forest, a deer with silver antlers who had lived more seasons than any animal could remember, gathered all the forest inhabitants in the great clearing. His face was grave, and in his ancient eyes shone a deep sadness. "Listen to me, all of you," said the deer in a voice that resonated like distant thunder. "I have seen in the dreams of the world what is to come. Soon, the rains will arrive as never before. The rivers will overflow, the waters will rise, and this entire forest... all of this that we call home, will be swallowed. There will be no place to hide. There will be no mountain high enough. We will all die."
The entire forest fell silent. Then, like a wave, panic spread among the animals. Some cried, others ran without direction, others simply stood paralyzed by terror.
—It was then that the beaver stepped forward. "Wise one," he said with a trembling but determined voice. "Is there nothing we can do? No way to stop it?" The deer looked at him with compassion and shook his head. "I'm sorry, little friend. This is beyond our strength. We can only flee, try to survive elsewhere. It's all we can do."
—But the beaver didn't give up. "I don't want to flee," he said. "This is my home. Here I built my dam, here I made my friends, here is my life. I can't abandon it without trying." The other animals looked at him strangely. "What are you going to do, beaver?" asked a duck. "Can you stop the rain? Can you order the rivers not to overflow?"
—"No," responded the beaver. "But I can build. I can build the largest dam this forest has ever seen. I can make a wall strong enough to hold back the waters. I can try."
Cassie, beside him, had stopped breathing for a moment. Her hands, previously clenched tightly, had relaxed slightly on her lap. Her face was a mask of complete concentration.
—The animals laughed —Ash continued, without changing the tone of his voice—. They laughed with that cruel laugh of those who have already given up. "A dam?" said a squirrel. "Do you think a few logs and branches will stop the fury of the sky?" "You're a useless beaver," said a fox. "Your effort will be for nothing. You'll only tire yourself out and die exhausted before the waters sweep you away." And one by one, the animals walked away. Some fled the forest that very night. Others hid in their burrows to wait for the end. And the beaver was left alone.
Ash turned his head slightly, as if he could see through the corals as if they were the imaginary forest of his story.
—But the beaver began to work. Alone. Without help. Without encouragement. Each day, when the sun barely peeked out, he was already gnawing the largest trees he could find. Each night, when the moon should have illuminated his effort, he dragged the logs to the place where he had decided to build the dam. His paws blistered. His back ached. His teeth, his only tool, wore down until they almost broke. And while he worked, he heard the laughter of the animals passing by in the distance. "Look at the useless beaver," they said. "He still thinks he can save the forest." "How stupid he is." "What a waste of time."
Ash's voice became softer.
—There were nights when the beaver, exhausted and hungry, would sit by the riverbank and cry. He cried because his strength was running out. He cried because the dam barely reached half of what was needed. He cried because deep in his heart, a little voice whispered that the others were right, that everything was useless, that he should give up and flee like the rest. But then he thought of his home. He thought of the forest where he had grown up. He thought of the ducks that had already left, of the rabbits that no longer came out of their burrows, of the birds that no longer sang. And something inside him refused to accept defeat.
—So he got up. He shook the dust from his fur. And he went back to work. Day after day. Night after night. Until the dam was finished.
Silence settled between them. Cassie had tilted her head, her lips slightly parted, completely absorbed in the story.
—The day of the rains arrived —Ash continued—. The sky darkened as if night had decided to stay forever. And then it began to rain. It didn't rain like it normally rains. Walls of water fell, curtains so dense you couldn't see a step ahead. The rivers grew. The streams overflowed. And from the mountains, a gigantic, unstoppable, furious mass of water descended toward the forest.
—All the animals that had decided to stay, those who hadn't fled, gathered at the highest point they could find. Hugging each other, trembling with cold and fear, they waited for death. They waited for the water to sweep them away and drown them. And then they saw the dam.
Ash made a dramatic pause.
—The beaver, exhausted, barely able to stand, watched from atop his construction. He saw how the mass of water crashed against the logs. He saw how the wood creaked, threatening to break. He saw how the water desperately searched for a gap, a crack, any weak point to seep through. And for an eternal moment, the beaver believed he had failed. He believed they had all been right. That his effort had been useless.
—But then... the dam held.
Ash's smile was slight, barely a ghost on his lips.
—The logs he had gnawed with such effort, the branches he had dragged with such pain, the stones he had placed with such precision... all of it formed an unbreakable wall. The water, furious, crashed again and again. But the dam did not yield. Hours passed. The rain subsided. And when the sun finally broke through the clouds, the forest was still there. The trees were still standing. The animals were still alive.
—The beaver, exhausted, fell to his knees. And then he heard something. First a few, then many, then all. The animals that had previously mocked him, that had called him useless, that had given up without fighting, approached him. And they didn't approach to laugh. They approached with eyes full of tears, with heads bowed, with shame painted on their faces.
—"Beaver," said the oldest of the deer, the same wise one who had announced the doom. "We were wrong. We called you useless, but you did what none of us dared to try. We are saved because of you."
Ash turned toward Cassie. Although she couldn't see him, she felt his gaze.
—The beaver looked at them all. He looked at the deer, the ducks, the rabbits, the foxes, the squirrels. And he said: "Many of you told me that what I was doing was useless, that it made no sense, and that I should just resign myself to dying. But look. My useless effort saved us all. Perhaps at first I was useless, but I worked harder than anyone, I fought harder than anyone, even when I didn't believe in myself. I'm glad that in the end, my useless effort became something that could save your lives."
—The animals, hearing the beaver's words, felt ashamed of themselves. And they decided to change. From that day on, they followed their savior. The beaver they once saw as useless, they now saw as their savior. And the forest thrived, stronger than before, because everyone learned that giving up is easy, but fighting, even when all seems lost, is what truly makes the difference.
Ash fell silent. The sound of the waves filled the void.
Cassie took a moment to speak. When she did, her voice was barely a whisper.
"The beaver... was like me, wasn't he?"
"No," Ash responded softly. "The beaver was like you feel now. But you are not the beaver from the beginning. You are the beaver who keeps working even though everyone else has fled."
Cassie bit her lower lip.
"But I can't do anything," she said, and in her voice there was a tremor. "I can't see. I can't fight. I can't build dams. I'm just a burden."
"Cassie," Ash interrupted her, and his voice was firm but kind. "You have a gift. You can see things no one else can see. You can see the future. You can see the threads of destiny. That, in this world, is more valuable than any sword or any armor."
"But right now I can't use it," she protested. "I don't know how. I can't control it. I only have confusing visions, fragments I don't understand..."
"And that's why you're building your dam," said Ash. "Every day you spend here, every moment you try to understand your gift, every time you fail and try again... that's your dam. Others look at you and think you're useless. You yourself think you're useless. But when the moment comes, when the waters of adversity strike hard, your dam will hold. And all those who now doubt you will owe you their lives."
Tears welled from Cassie's blind eyes. But this time they weren't tears of sadness or self-pity. They were tears of something deeper, something she couldn't name.
"Do you really believe that?" she asked with a broken voice.
Ash didn't respond immediately. Instead, he extended a hand and, with a slowness that would allow Cassie to anticipate the movement, gently placed his palm on the girl's shoulder.
"I believe it," he said. "And not just me. Nephis believes it too. And Sunny, even if he'll never admit it. That's why we're here. That's why we carry you. Not out of pity. Because we know that someday, when we need it most, your dam will save us all."
Cassie sobbed, but this time a trembling smile drew on her lips.
"The useless beaver," she murmured, as if savoring the words.
"The useless beaver," Ash repeated with a smile. "Who saved an entire forest with his effort."
Cassie nodded slowly. Then, with a voice that tried to sound stronger than it really was, she said:
"Thank you, Ash."
"You're welcome."
Silence returned, but it wasn't an awkward silence. It was a shared silence, warm, like the fire crackling not far away.
"Ash," said Cassie after a moment. "Do you think I can... build my dam?"
Ash withdrew his hand and looked into the darkness.
"You're already doing it," he responded. "You just don't know it yet."
Cassie smiled. A small, fragile, but real smile.
Ash stood up.
"Well, I'll go train with my new Memory. See you in a while," said Ash, standing up to walk away, but was stopped by Cassie.
"Ash," said the girl.
"Can you... promise me something?" Cassia asked.
Ash tilted his head slightly, trying to guess what Cassia would say about her vision.
"What would that be?"
"Can you be selfish for once? No matter what."
Ash fell silent, looking at the blind girl, thinking of a response.
"Alright." That was all he said, turning around and walking away silently.
...
In the afternoon, Ash continued practicing with his sword, his face always unchanging as he watched the sunset while his sword rose and fell constantly.
Once he reached two thousand, Ash stopped, feeling his arms like lead and his muscles sore. Although the damage he had received in his battle against the centurion wasn't fatal, it made his whole body ache.
Sighing, he lowered his sword before dismissing the Memory and then returning to where the others were. He watched as Nephis guided Sunny in sword handling, then his eyes fixed on the blind girl who seemed thoughtful.
For a moment, his gray eyes turned cold like two ice floes, full of absolute indifference, before he closed his eyes and sighed.
'It's only a few months,' he thought to himself.
In a few months, he would return to the awakened world, and after that, he could do what he wanted and have a peaceful life as an Awakened far from problems.
A few days later, everyone was fully recovered. Ash, out of boredom, practiced with his sword, or tried to discover more about his Aspect, then simply watched Sunny train or talk with Cassie, who had become much more animated after he told her the story.
Nephis simply meditated in silence, beginning to get used to the pain of her Aspect, while he chatted a little but most of the time stayed in his own space, looking west or occasionally at the scavengers passing by on the ground below without paying attention.
The next morning, they devoured the remaining meat and abandoned the cliff.
...
After a few days, Ash was sitting on the shell of his Echo next to Cassie, a somewhat bored look on his face.
The sound of shells shattering was heard clearly, courtesy of Changing Star, who was smashing scavenger shells to get their soul fragments.
After dozens of battles, the group got used to the rhythm of constant confrontations.
After two weeks of moving quickly, they left most of the coral labyrinth behind and slowly approached the area of massive bones.
In fact, Ash calculated they were just a few hours away.
Ash let out a slight yawn while ordering his Echo to stop devouring the corpse of a centurion that had been following them for the last few days.
After the battle at the cliff, Ash had a better understanding of his innate ability. Although he could directly attack souls, there was something that influenced it: the quality of the Memory and its rank.
Although his will was strong and firm, his physique was only that of a Sleeper, and there were things that, although he could affect, he couldn't kill. An example of this was the centurion.
The soul of an Awakened Monster was larger and stronger than the soul of an Awakened Beast. To kill a monster, he would need to land three times the attacks it would take him to finish off an Awakened Beast.
"What are you thinking about, Ash?" asked Cassia.
"Nothing in particular, just thinking about what I'll do when I become an Awakened."
"And what will you do?"
"Uhm. I guess I'll go to a quiet citadel, and I think that's it."
Cassie blinked.
"You'll just do that? Won't you do anything else?"
"No. Just a comfortable life, a house in a quiet place, and maybe buy a real plant to take care of. That would be a perfect life."
"That sounds more like the life of a grumpy old man," said Sunny, approaching.
"What do you know?"
"A lot," Sunny responded. "Why live a boring life when you can simply get rich, eat delicious food until you're a fat guy that everyone envies?"
"I thought your dream was to open a... café? Restaurant?" Ash asked, not very sure.
"It's both. If you want, I can hire you as the cashier."
"Yeah, that's never going to happen."
"That's what you say now. Just wait a few years when you have no money and I'm rich. Anyway, get off that Echo of yours and help extract the venom sacs."
Ash, without saying anything, got off the Echo and joined Sunny in collecting the venom sacs from the millipedes. Once they finished, Nephis, Sunny, and Ash were at the top of elevated terrain, observing in the distance the bone ridge and the flat hill they had come from.
"What do you think? Do we go back or go to the bone ridge?" asked Sunny.
"We'll advance toward the bone ridge," Nephis expressed.
"I have no problem with that," said Ash.
"Agreed." Ash gave the Echo an order to start moving while Sunny sent his shadow forward.
...
After some time traveling, they had finally arrived at the bone ridge.
Ash observed the enormous skeletons of bones protruding from the ground, rising hundreds of meters high.
After walking for a while, with the sun setting, they ventured inside one of the enormous skeletons to spend the night.
Once they removed the bags from the Echo's body, Ash dismissed it, leaving much more space than before.
Ash and Sunny moved away, leaving the duo of girls alone to clean themselves.
Lying down on the white bone, Ash closed his eyes, entering his sea of souls.
Upon entering, he observed that everything was exactly the same without any change. He had his same three Memories and the Echo.
Ash walked and explored his sea of souls for a while but found nothing interesting, so he summoned his runes.
Name: Ashfall
True Name: Dream of Oblivion
Rank: Sleeper
Aspect: Phantom
Aspect Rank: Divine
Phantom Core: Dormant
Soul Fragments: [182/1000]
Aspect Ability: [Guide]
Echoes: [Shell Scavenger]
Memories: [Sword of the Seven] [Nebulous Bow] [Mantle of the Mist]
Attributes: [Nothingness] [Souls] [Blessing of Nothingness] [Spark of Divinity] [Shadows]
Flaw: [Clemency]
"I'm close to reaching two hundred fragments. Maybe with those fruits from the soul tree I can complete the 18 fragments I'm missing."
Leaving his sea of souls, Ash simply lay down, feeling the breeze caressing his skin while his eyes rested on the top of the vertebral column.
After a while, it was his turn to wash up, which he took advantage of to remove all the blood, dirt, and bad odor from his body.
After doing so, he returned to the others, where Nephis cooked the centurion meat they had killed earlier.
After dinner, the dark sea arrived where Ash simply lay down. It was his turn for the last watch. Each watch was two hours of work so that everyone would have four hours of sleep until morning.
...
When it was his turn, he relieved Nephis.
After about two hours, the sea began to recede, a sign that day had arrived.
Ash, who was holding a piece of bone he had extracted out of boredom, threw it into the retreating dark sea.
"Good morning," said Sunny, waking up.
"Good morning," he responded in his usual tone. Shortly after, Nephis got up.
"Did anything happen?" asked Changing Star.
"No. Nothing out of the usual," he responded.
Nephis nodded. Although lately she had been learning how to express herself better, it was quite difficult for her, and it was curious to see the stoic Changing Star smile like a normal human being.
Ash shuddered a little remembering a macabre smile Nephis gave the last time she tried to smile. Even Sunny felt a bit of fear.
After breakfast, Ash let Sunny and Nephis discuss their next move while he simply remained silent, thinking about how to kill a tree.
After watching the duo climb up through the crack, he stayed with Cassie chatting for a while until they came down.
"What did you find?" he asked, already knowing the answer.
"A tree," said Sunny.
"A tree?"
"Yes, it's in the direction we need to go, though there's something strange about that place, but I don't know what it is."
Ash made a thoughtful noise.
"Well, if you don't know, I don't either."
"And what will we do?" asked Cassie.
"Move forward. What else?" said Nephis, beginning to descend the vertebral column of the skeleton.
Once everyone was on the ground, Ash sighed.
'Why do I feel like things are going to get very ugly?' he thought, looking toward the gray sky of the Forgotten Shore.