Four days after the small cohort had accomplished their task of subjugating the Carapace Centurion into a mindless slave, Rain found herself settled on a ragged stone, its damp surface covered in azure blood. All around her, twisted and alien corpses of Scavengers lay motionless, some burned and some simply cut in half.
Stuck between crimson walls, the cohort stood on the remains of a brutal battle, in which they were the only ones who survived.
Currently, Nephis was gathering awakened soul shards of the mutilated Scavengers, cutting through their grotesque flesh with effortless ease. In contrast, the fragile blind girl was sitting on the back of the loyal Centurion, its large surface making for an actually pretty comfortable ride.
For the past few days, the cohort had continued their journey to the west, in which the Centurion came out to be a big help. Not only was it by far the strongest of them, but it could also act as a useful distraction and meat shield when things turned too dire. However as helpful as the abomination was, it also had brought a few defects with it.
The biggest problem of all was that the Centurion, as dumb as it sounded, was alive. Rain's ability to enslave creatures was by no means comparable to earning a real echo. And since the Centurion wasn't an echo, Rain had no way to retract it into her soul sea and let it heal its wounds and lost limbs, meaning that the living meat shield walked around with pretty much half of its limbs already gone.
And yet, it was still stronger than the girls. Well, maybe not stronger than Nephis—due to the creature's state. Nephis perhaps stood a chance on a one on one.
That girl was, as simply said as it could be, a menace. Her sword danced with effortless grace, like it had a mind of its own. Her flames devoured everything in their reach, turning whatever remained into ash.
What's more, Changing Star grew with each fight. Every single soul shard consumed strengthened her body and mind, slowly but surely turning her into the peak of what humans could physically achieve. The increase of strength that came with one soul shard was barely noticeable, but with dozens of them added up, the flame in her soul turned brighter and more potent.
Rain and Cassie were growing stronger too, but their growth wasn't as apparent as their silver-haired companion's.
Due to the hard obtainment method of dream shards Rain was faced with, she had been already set back from the beginning. So, Rain decided to focus on improving sword technique, even though she rarely fought herself, preferring to send her centurion into battle instead.
Nephis was a great teacher—one of the best, even—but even she couldn't bring Rain to accomplish anything meaningful. It wasn't like Rain didn't have any talent, quite the opposite, in fact. Her pure athleticism and reflexes surpassed Nephis', but that was all there was to her. Due to her desire to preserve herself, Rain naturally took on a more defensive role, being unable to truly damage any nightmare creature standing in front of her.
And there was another department she lacked in—her mindset.
Rain was unable to kill.
She didn't lack skill, wits or power. Her resolve was bigger than most, honed by living years in the outskirts. Her lithe but athletic body allowed her to be faster and more precise than others, and yet, she was unable to kill. When her blade was about to pierce the chest of an abomination, when she needed her strength the most, her body would panic and stop, her heart pounding violently. It wasn't fear or lack of power, but rather trauma and guilt. Without having any control over her body, she would paralyze on the spot, her arms hesitating to move even an inch further.
There was one thing Rain couldn't understand. It was the value of lives.
For example, if a young boy decided to stomp onto a pathetic, ugly insect, people wouldn't bat an eye. But if that same boy squished a beautiful butterfly between his fingers, the same people would become angry at him.
So what was the difference between the bug and the butterfly? Rain desperately wanted to find out, but to this day, she never did. For her, every life had the same worth, and she could not bring herself to take it away.
Still sitting atop the jagged rock, Rain gently ran her lithe fingers along the azure blade. The cohort had all become stronger on their journey to the dark castle, however, there was still a huge distance they needed to traverse. Rain wasn't sure if they could accomplish it, but it was at least worth a shot.
Then, with a sigh, she stood up and strolled over to Nephis, who finished her task right at that moment.
"Finished extracting all the soul shards?" Rain asked, her tone casual. Nephis answered by giving the pale girl a nod.
Rain's lips slightly curled upwards in greed. She of course didn't have any use for them, and due to the deal she made with Nephis they didn't belong to her anyways—but was it so wrong for a outskirts girl like her to appreciate riches?
"How many did we get?"
"Should be 13."
"That was our biggest haul so far." Cassie, who was still sitting on the large back of the Carapace Centurion, chimed in.
And it indeed was. Having killed 13 beasts in one battle wasn't something that a group of three sleepers should've been able to do, and yet, they still accomplished it. However, to their disdain, the spell hadn't rewarded them with an echo or memory for slaying them.
As the sun continued its descent down, a cold grey sheen fell onto the crimson labyrinth, dimming all the light around the cohort. The crimson walls weren't so crimson anymore, rather appearing dark and bloody red. The air turned cooler, but due to their awakened bodies, it wasn't as uncomfortable as some might've imagined—they were also already accustomed to the climate around this area.
"We should probably go back up the bone ridge.* Rain suggested as she turned around. Now in front of her, the skeletal remains of an enormous creature stretched as far into the distance as she could see. This colossal landmark had served as their camp for the past few days, its sheer size having allowed them to get through the night without having had to worry about being gobbled up by the dark sea.
Just at the thought of how this creature might've looked, made Rain shudder in fear. One thing was certain though—that creature could and would have stomped onto her like she was a small, insignificant and pathetic bug.
But then, another thought entered her mind. If that creature could kill her with a simple thought, what was the reason for its own death? She didn't want to find out.
Rain took her first step, ordering the Centurion to start moving too at the same time. They had already scouted the area the days prior, so navigating wasn't a difficult task, especially because of the short distance between them and the bone ridge.
The ground level of the labyrinth wasn't even in this particular place, some parts being situated higher than others, while others dipped lower into a large crater.
***
Some time later, they arrived in front of the creature's cracked open skull. Its lower jaw was either missing or buried under the mud, making for an easy entrance. The first time she entered, Rain felt nervous and scared, but now, the sight didn't even make her shiver anymore.
Passing beneath the terrifying wall of teeth, the cohort entered the cave. Making their way through the creature's skull, they quickly arrived on the back, entering the hollow expanse of its spine. The surface underneath their feet was as wide as a road and as hard as steel, which meant that they didn't need to worry about falling down to their demise.
Since they couldn't check if any monster was waiting for them up the large creature's spine, the cohort all had their weapons ready, holding them in front of their chests. Luckily, their precautions turned out to be unnecessary.
By the time they arrived at their usual spot, the dark sea already started its nightly surge, coming out of nowhere and covering all of the labyrinth.
All of the three were in desperate need of a bath. Since the endless spring belonged to Cassie, she was the first to clean herself. In the meantime, Nephis did what she did every single night without wavering—swinging her sword.
And Rain, she simply sat at the edge of the corpse's back. With one part of her consciousness occupied by watching the sea rise, the other part summoned her runes.
Dream Fragments: [58/1000].
That wasn't a lot. Rain had arrived in the Crimson Labyrinth around 2 months ago, and her progress wasn't as big as she had wished for. At least the process of obtaining Dream Fragments eased with every shard she gathered. Rain felt a lot stronger than she did at the very beginning.
The next few minutes passed in boring silence, only howls of screaming wind audible. Then, Rain finally felt someone tap her on her shoulder. Turning around, the radiant sight of Nephis fell into her view. She was simply mesmerizing. Her short silver hair had grown longer in the past month, making her appear a little bit more feminine and soft. There was no callus in sight on Nephis' alabaster skin, which was pretty much unheard of for an outskirts kid like Rain. In all of her life, Rain had never seen someone with skin like that—and that was the reason why she found it so alluring.
"It's your turn." Nephis said quietly, while handing over the Endless Spring.
"Ah, thanks. I can't wait to finally feel clean again."
Rain gracefully accepted the glass bottle and walked behind one of the large ridges of the spine. Then, she dismissed her armor. The breeze instantly turned colder, uncomfortable even. But thanks to her awakened body, the coldness wouldn't make her turn sick.
While she was cleaning herself, Nephis used the remaining time to start a campfire and prepare the meat they scavenged today. The aroma of roasted Scavenger flesh filled the air, reaching even the hiding Rain.
The grime, blood and dirt all quickly rinsed away as the cool water of the Endless Spring made contact with her pale skin. But her body wasn't the only thing being cleaned—her mind was too. At least for now, all the stress, guilt and the heaviness in her heart disappeared into nothingness.
As her bathing time came to an end, Rain resummoned her armor and took a glance at the glass bottle. Her reflection pleasantly surprised her. This was the first time that Rain had allowed herself to take a long bath since she arrived in the Dream Realm.
'Huh, I actually look quite good. I didn't expect the awakening to change me that much. I definitely take after mom.'
By the time Rain returned to Nephis and Cassie, her hair still wet, the meal Nephis prepared was already done. The night sky had already long arrived, only the orange flames keeping their surroundings illuminated.
They ate in silence, too tired to talk. But hey, at least the food tasted delicious. Soon, it was time to sleep.
Rain was the one to take watch, due to a part of her Aspect she just found out recently. Her mind generally required less rest and sleep than most. At the beginning, she believed that her desire to sleep lessened because of her awakening. But after comparing herself to Nephis and Cassie, she quickly deduced that her Aspect didn't just allow her to attack the minds of others, but also strengthen her own.
Not being able to see far, Rain simply waited—for a long time.