Ash hummed a song he remembered from Earth before being sent to this world through the void. He had completed a total of about four months since he arrived, and about two months since he came to the Dream Realm.
Time certainly flew by.
Currently, he was organizing an old shack in the most remote area of the suburbs. It was a large house made of rock with large missing gaps, although covered by fabric from an Awakened monster they had killed on their way back from the library.
Likewise, they had explored the ruins, rescuing one or two pieces of furniture that were quite good to use.
Ash stopped his humming, watching Changing Star put the finishing touches, making the home slightly more flowery—at least better than most places where the other Sleepers were.
Letting his mind wander, Ash felt calm. It was daytime, and the sun was high in the sky.
Closing his eyes, he traveled to his soul sea.
Once inside, he opened his eyes, seeing the now familiar landscape: his single gray Soul Core in the sky radiating cold light, the always cloudy weather, and the omnipresent mist floating over the sea.
Ash moved out of habit. Even after walking for a long time, there was no apparent end, which fascinated him in a way.
Stopping, Ash looked around. Recently, something had been happening in his soul.
At first, it was imperceptible, but then it slowly grew, very slowly.
Now he could feel that he was being watched, that there was something else apart from himself.
It wasn't the uncomfortable sensation he had during his first nightmare, nor the terror he felt from his experience with the Soul Devourer.
It was different. He didn't know what yet, but it was there, hidden in the mist that his vision couldn't penetrate.
Sighing, Ash left his soul sea. He had only been gone for a minute or two.
Opening his eyes, he observed Nephis, who apparently was waiting for him to return.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm finished," she said, looking at the shack that could be called a home.
Ash nodded, yawning.
"You mentioned you plan to use me as a knight in shining armor. How exactly will you achieve that?"
"I won't use you," he clarified. "And how I'll do it is simple... with the power of hope."
"Hope?" Nephis looked at Ash with confusion. She understood, of course, what hope was, but she didn't know what hope would do to make her a heroine.
Ash looked at Nephis's confusion and after a few moments spoke again.
"Depending on what Sunny discovers about the castle, I'll have more or less an idea of what to do so that the Sleepers begin to follow you. You see, Neph, hope is the sweetest candy of all, as well as the most deadly poison..." Ash paused briefly.
"These Sleepers have been trapped here for years, resigned to dying in this place. Ruled by a cruel ruler. If we make them rekindle the flame of desire to get out of here, if they have a leader to follow... well, you'll see eventually."
Nephis nodded, understanding the point Ash wanted to make.
She would be the flame that guides and drives them towards their freedom, giving them the option to fight for the exit or die trying. It was in a way Machiavellian—to manipulate hundreds of Sleepers under the premise of freedom, setting aside the death that such action would cause.
Nephis looked at the gray-haired boy whose face hadn't changed expression—always calm and distant.
Ash stood up.
"Something is approaching."
"What is it?"
"It's a nightmare creature, a big one. Maybe it's an Awakened monster. This is a good opportunity," he said, summoning his sword while heading towards the exterior Sleepers.
A second or two passed until Nephis followed him.
...
The exterior Sleepers were fearful. A nightmare creature was approaching; they had seen it starting to move towards where they were.
Since the special stone that repelled creatures didn't seem to deter it, they supposed it should be an Awakened Demon, or in the worst case, a Fallen Beast.
Quickly, a cohort of hunters formed—those willing to fight, not to save them, but to divide the monster's meat and get the soul core to live in the castle for a week.
The current cohort was made up of four Sleepers, all using weapon memories and with little armor among them. Only one had armor, and the other three used abomination fabric to cover themselves.
When they decided to move to intercept the abomination, they saw two Sleepers they hadn't seen before. Both had silver hair, the most distinctive feature.
However, their facial features were somewhat similar, with different eyes—the girl had eyes like silver, and the boy had yellow eyes like the sun.
It was clear they were strong since they had armor and weapons.
The first to speak was the boy.
"Do you mind if we join you?" he asked.
The man, about twenty or twenty-one years old, shrugged.
"We don't mind receiving more help, although whoever lands the final blow keeps the soul fragment," he said seriously.
"Sounds good," said the girl.
"Well, let's get moving."
...
Going down the stairs of the white bridge on the wall, it only took them a little time to come into view of the abomination, which set its eyes on them.
Ash looked at the abomination with curiosity. It was a strange creature—large, as big as a house. It had a large, swollen torso, with six legs resembling a spider. Its head was a mix between a hound and a carapace scavenger. Overall, it was disgusting to look at and one-eyed.
Ash noted that it was at least an Awakened Demon or, in the best case, a Fallen Beast.
Letting out a strong shriek of fury, the corrupted beast charged forward to crush and stab with its legs.
Ash jumped to the side, avoiding being swept away by the creature.
The demon turned, using the ruins of a house to pivot its mass and charge towards another Sleeper who wasn't so lucky, being sent flying several meters.
Before the demon could do anything else, Nephis swung her flame-wreathed sword against the slightly exposed joint. Her sword, empowered by her flames, managed to cut off the limb.
The monster staggered for a moment.
The other Sleeper, the young man using a large hammer memory, swung it, hitting another leg, though it didn't have much effect.
The demon raised its leg and brought it down against its opponent, trying to skewer him like a kebab.
The Sleeper quickly moved, jumping back, letting the sharp leg impact the ground.
Ash took that moment to approach, launching a cut that opened a wound in the creature's broad torso, making it shriek in pain.
It opened its mouth to devour Ash when an arrow from the third Sleeper lodged in its right eye.
Landing on the ground, Ash cut again, eliminating a second leg.
The Sleeper who had been thrown at the start managed to stand up with difficulty. Summoning a spear, he charged forward with the intention of stabbing the unsuspecting monster.
The demon turned, seeing the Sleeper charge, and lunged forward. Lowering its body, the demon opened its mouth full of hundreds of sharp teeth.
The Sleeper's eyes widened, knowing he had made a mistake. However, before being devoured, a figure impacted the demon's face—a flame-wreathed sword that penetrated a few centimeters into the demon's head, igniting instantly.
Nephis grimaced while using her Aspect.
Leaping back, she looked at Ash, who was already moving.
Ash observed the demon, which was still screaming and writhing. Jumping onto a large white rock, he took a second leap, landing on top of the nightmare creature.
Without hesitation, he let his weight carry him down. His sword blade completely pierced the creature's head. It fell to the ground, and after shaking one last time, he heard the spell's voice.
[You have killed an Awakened Demon: Vile Brood]
[Your soul grows stronger]
[You have obtained a Memory]
Ash blinked, somewhat surprised to finally obtain a new Memory. However, he would examine it later.
Climbing down from the demon's corpse, he observed how the other Sleepers gathered.
"It was an Awakened Demon," he said, provoking surprised looks.
After all, they had achieved something amazing—killing an Awakened Demon, something several ranks above the Sleepers, and without anyone dying.
Ash opened the corpse, extracting the three soul fragments.
"Well, this ends our alliance," said the hammer man, somewhat frustrated at not being the one to deliver the final blow. The other two were the same, but the rule was clear—whoever kills it keeps it.
Ash stored the soul fragments in his pockets and extracted meat from the abomination along with Nephis, then simply let the other three Sleepers divide the rest. He was sure they would sell the meat in exchange for soul fragments, but that was no longer his problem.
After moving away, Nephis looked at Ash.
"Memory?"
"Yes," Ash responded.
"I don't know what type yet, so I'll examine it later," he explained.
Nephis nodded.
Once they arrived at where they were staying, they left the meat to dry. Before leaving, Cassie had temporarily given them the Endless Spring, which they used to wash the blood from the meat and put it out to dry in the sun.
After leaving the meat drying, Ash looked at his new Memory.
Memory: [Armor of the Fallen Legion]
Memory Rank: Awakened
Memory Level: III
Memory Type: Armor
Memory Description: [Swearing to battle against the darkness that flooded the world, a powerful Legion of warriors rose to face it. They fought valiantly for a long time until being completely overwhelmed. Their powerful legion fell, and with it, the last hope.]
Ash raised an eyebrow reading the Memory's description.
Enchantments: [Steel Cloth] [Black Augmentation] [Unbreakable]
Steel Cloth enchantment description: [The fabric of this attire is made of steel threads, as resistant as powerful armor but as light and flexible as the softest silk.]
Black Augmentation enchantment description: [The greater the darkness, the greater the power you will receive from it.]
Unbreakable enchantment description: [As long as the wearer's desires remain firm, the enchantment will provide an increase in power to their body.]
'They're useful enchantments, though inferior to my armor.'
Ash thought about whether to give the armor to Nephis or keep it for himself. Out of the corner of his eye, he looked at Changing Star, more specifically at her castaway tunic that she had obtained some time ago. It was cut and torn, practically useless at this point.
After thinking it over for a while, Ash made a decision.
"Nephis," he called, making Changing Star, who was cooking the meat they had taken, look at him.
Standing up, he extended his hand.
"Give me your hand for a moment."
After a glance, Nephis extended her hand. Ash felt the soft skin without calluses, even after relentless sword training.
Pushing those thoughts aside, he transferred the armor he had obtained.
[You have transferred a Memory]
Nephis blinked, reading the Memory she received.
"Why are you giving it to me?"
"You need it more than I do. I already have good armor, and that tunic you have is practically useless," he explained.
Nephis nodded in agreement, entering the house. Ash stayed outside for a few seconds until Changing Star emerged with her new armor.
It was a black suit that covered her entire body, fitting well to her agile and slender figure. It had a breastplate made of polished silver that, like her sword, bore an engraving of seven stars. Likewise, on her hips there was metallic protection, as well as on her shoulders and legs, with polished metal boots.
Ash nodded.
"How does it feel?"
"Good," said Nephis, feeling the comfort of her new armor.
"That's good," said Ash, noticing that the meat was ready.
They both ate in silence until night fell over the Dark City, and with it, the return of the dark sea.
After eating, they remained silent for a few minutes until Nephis spoke.
"I'm sorry," she said, making Ash blink.
"What are you apologizing for?"
"For what happened at the Soul Devourer and, well, everything else, including the eye," said Changing Star.
Ash looked at Nephis for a few moments before shrugging.
"It's fine. You were being controlled, and it wasn't you. Anyway, I should apologize for almost killing you. Although next time, maybe I'll make up for it by cutting off an arm or a leg. I'm very spiteful, you know?" Ash's eyes gleamed in the darkness with an amused smile.
Nephis nodded with amusement at the comment.
Ash looked towards the ruins.
"Well, I'm going to the ruins to kill some things. I need to start saturating my soul core. See you tomorrow." And with that, Ash walked away under Changing Star's attentive gaze.
After a few minutes, Nephis watched the edge of the ruins as a field of mist spread rapidly, venturing into the ruins and disappearing from sight.