In the morning, Ash woke up later than usual. When he opened his eyes, the sun had already fully risen and had been in the sky for a while.
The scene that greeted him was pleasant; a gentle breeze caressed his face, bringing the smell of fallen leaves.
Then he simply looked at the tree.
"Fuck you. You must know by now that it's impossible for you to influence me," Ash said, looking at the tree with hatred.
"Hey, you're finally awake. It's almost noon," said Sunny.
"Really?"
"Yeah, we thought you'd fallen into a coma or something."
"He must have been too tired yesterday. Besides, it's not like we're going to do anything."
"That's true. Here," Sunny threw a fruit to Ash, who caught it and ate it, gaining two soul fragments.
Ash stood up.
"So, what are we doing today?"
He asked. But at that moment, Cassie, who had approached with Nephis, spoke.
"Nothing! We're on Ashes' vacation, remember? So we're just going to rest and relax."
"I think that wasn't the plan."
Cassie frowned.
"No plans, Ash. Planning, scheming, or plotting is not allowed. Just sit down and enjoy the day. Okay?"
Faced with Cassie's serious, reprimanding voice, Ash could only sigh.
"Alright," he replied.
"So how about we look for soul fragments?"
"Sounds like something interesting," said Sunny, "but I'm resting, you see."
"And you, Nephis?"
"Pass."
"Well, I guess I'll do it alone." Ash walked away towards the eastern part where the Carapace Demon had been, starting to dig.
Ash summoned the staff, beginning to dispel the meters of ash that were there to search for soul fragments and consume them.
After several hours and digging for about thirty meters, he found nothing. After getting out, he brushed the ash from his clothes and hair and returned to the others.
After eating a soul fruit, he watched the sunset, chatted a bit, and went to sleep.
Thus, a few days passed, where Ash eventually discovered the reason for the lack of fragments. The tree used them as fertilizer to create the soul fruits.
With that discovery, he told the rest, who didn't give it much importance.
The four would stay up late and sleep in. Thus the days passed.
Sometimes, when they were bored, they played simple games; other times they trained or stayed in silence, or simply each stayed alone with their thoughts.
Nephis on the western area of the island, Ash sitting on one of the roots with a lazy expression, Sunny staying in another place, and Cassie at the camp most of the time, sleeping or thinking about things she didn't want to know.
Ash watched the sunrise while eating a fruit.
[Your soul grows stronger.]
[Your soul grows stronger.]
Soul Fragments: [278/1000]
'Well, that makes two weeks,' Ash thought, sitting on the root of the Soul Tree.
'I guess that was enough rest. I've taken everything I could from this place. Now just...'
Getting down from the root, Ash walked towards where Sunny was, who had a somewhat confused expression, struggling to understand things.
"Hey, Sunny. Do you want to join me on an exploration to find the juiciest fruit, and whoever gets the best one wins?"
Sunny frowned.
"What's the reward?"
"This." Ash showed a transcendent soul fragment he had found that hadn't been absorbed as nutrients for the Soul Tree.
Sunny's eyes lit up before he nodded.
"Alright. When do we start?"
"Now."
Ash began to climb, with Sunny following him. At some point, he let Sunny continue climbing, then went down. He would be out for a few hours until he obtained Weaver's lineage.
Ash then walked towards where the Carapace Demon's corpse was, which he had finished studying. Days before, they had taken the soul fragments, and Ash gave his to Cassie out of habit.
Summoning the Seven's Sword, he began to butcher the corpse, separating the steel plates as well as the spinal column with the head to create a mast.
The process was slow and disgusting.
When the sun passed noon and began to descend in the afternoon, he knew he didn't have much time. Finally, he had done it.
He had created a terrifying boat made from the corpse of an Awakened demon. Of course, he had to use the golden rope to hold everything together. He only lacked the sail, which he could use Cassie's cloak for, and propel the boat with the wind staff.
Ash blinked and then sighed, knowing what was coming.
"It seems I'll have to take them by force." Ash looked at the transcendent fragment and crushed it. He felt his body become stronger and faster. Looking at his counter, he saw it increase to three hundred.
Ash calmly walked, dragging the heavy bone boat towards the western area, leaving it at the edge and tying it up. This took him almost two hours to accomplish.
After making sure it was well tied, Ash...
"Ash, what are you doing?"
"Oh, I made a boat. I was thinking of sailing far away from here."
"Leaving the sacred tree?" asked Nephis.
"Yes. As far as I can. It's dangerous, you know?"
Nephis blinked. For a moment, there was lucidity before her eyes became dull. Changing Star said nothing more.
Ash returned, seeing Sunny come down with a confused expression on his face.
"Sunny, by any chance, do you have something called Blood Weave?"
Sunny fought against his speech impediment but responded.
"Yes."
"Good. That's good," he said, moving away from Sunny, watching as Nephis approached with a dark expression. Her hair created shadows on her face while a sword appeared in her hand.
Ash moved away until he was about fifteen meters away.
"Hey, what are you doing?" he asked seriously.
"Ash... did you think I wouldn't notice?" asked Nephis. "Did you think I didn't know you were trying to kill me?"
Ash raised an eyebrow.
"What are you talking about?"
"Stop talking. I know you were sent by them. Who sent you? Which domain do you belong to?"
Ash sighed.
'Seriously, this stupid tree implanted suspicions in Nephis that I was a spy sent to kill her,' Ash thought. 'This is starting to feel like a cliché.'
"Neph, what do you mean?"
"Ash is an assassin. He planned to kill us when we let our guard down."
Sunny frowned, his eyes becoming cautious under the influence of the soul-devouring tree.
Ash had expected this. The tree realized it couldn't control or influence him, and since he posed a threat, it decided to eliminate the threat before it became a problem. To do this, it heightened Sunny's suspicions and Nephis's hatred and suspicions so that they would see him as a threat to their lives.
Ash summoned the Seven's Sword. There was still an hour before nightfall.
He would have to incapacitate Sunny and Nephis, grab Cassie, and leave when night came.
That had been his plan from the start. They could have left a week ago when the influence was weak, but he was still weak then, and his soul was recovering.
But now that he had all his strength back, Ash was sure this would be a troublesome battle.
"You're being controlled. Snap out of it."
"We're not being controlled. We're sane. You're a threat that must be eliminated."
"Alright, fine. I won't kill you, but I'll leave you injured enough that it'll take you a few hours to wake up. So don't come complaining later."
"We'll see about that." Sunny ordered his shadow to wrap around his body while Changing Star prepared herself.
"You know, it's a beautiful day out there. Birds are singing. Flowers are blooming. On days like these, kids like you... should be burning in hell."
Ash said these words as he raised his sword. His eyes turned cold and calm in the face of what was about to happen.
Changing Star lunged forward with Sunny following slightly behind.
Ash simply activated the Mist Field enchantment, enveloping the entire Burial Mound in a dense, impenetrable white fog.
Swinging the sword, Changing Star only cut through air, frowning as her senses were on maximum alert.