When the sun had risen and the sea disappeared, they prepared to go to the bone structure.
Even from afar, its presence weighed on the mind.
The creature it had once belonged to must have been gargantuan beyond reason. Just imagining something of that scale moving through the sea around them ta night—alive, hungry, aware—was enough to send cold shivers down their spines.
If such a being had existed…
Then something had killed it.
What an awful place that was.
Caspian adjusted his grip on the River Blade as they advanced, the Stargaze floating steadily before him.
"…Stay sharp" he muttered.
Alice didn't reply, but her posture straightened slightly atop her centipede mount. The faint clicking of chitin legs blending with the distant whisper of wind.
They moved forward.
Closer.
Closer—
And then—
Caspian frowned.
"…Wait."
Something was wrong.
The arrow of the Stargaze—
It wasn't still.
At first, it was subtle.
Barely noticeable.
A slight tremble.
A faint adjustment.
But as they drew nearer to the bone structure—
It became undeniable.
The arrow was moving.
Not randomly.
Not erratically.
But tracking.
Following something.
Alive.
Caspian's eyes narrowed.
"…So you're not just guiding me to a place…"
He exhaled slowly.
"…You're guiding me to someone."
Ahead, the landscape shifted.
The coral mounds surrounding the colossal remains rose higher than anybother parts of the labyrinth around it. Dense. Twisted. Overgrown.
And wrong.
Caspian slowed his steps.
"…Look at that."
Alice followed his gaze.
The coral—
It wasn't just surrounding the bones.
It was growing from them.
Spreading outward.
Consuming.
The deeper they looked, the clearer it became—
The entire forest of crimson coral around it had roots in the corpse of the leviathan.
Caspian felt his stomach tighten.
"…Like veins…"
Or arteries.
When he looked at the mounds again, their color seemed darker.
Richer.
Almost wet.
"…It looks like blood…"
Solidified, ancient, endless blood.
For a brief moment, a thought crossed his mind—
If they dug deep enough into the mud beneath them…
Would they find layers upon layers of bones?
An entire graveyard?
Or—
A feeding ground?
Caspian shook his head slightly.
"…Focus."
And then—
He heard it.
Again.
Heartbeats.
Not faint this time.
Not so distant.
Clear, Close.
Three.
Human.
Familiar.
Caspian's eyes sharpened instantly.
"Alice."
She turned toward him.
"I think we are not alone here" he said quickly.
"Let's go."
She didn't hesitate.
Alice nodded, already accustomed to trusting his instincts.
Her mount moved immediately, its many legs carrying her forward with unnatural speed as she followed Caspian.
The Stargaze—
Still pointed ahead.
Still tracking.
Caspian could find the way only using his instincts, besides, the Stargaze showed the same direction he was going, like aggreing to it.
That alone was enough confirmation.
They moved faster.
The coral grew thicker.
Taller.
Until finally—
They reached the base of one of the massive mounds.
The bone structure loomed above them, its scale even more overwhelming up close.
"…We go up" Caspian said.
Alice's mount could have climbed vertically without issue.
But she stayed close.
Following him.
Step by step.
Together.
They circled the mound, searching—
Until they found it.
The skull.
Or what remained of it.
Massive.
Cracked.
Deformed.
Its lower jaw missing or buried beneath layers of mud and coral.
The upper half—
Formed a cavern.
A gaping mouth of titanic magnitudes.
Caspian felt a chill crawl down his spine.
"…This place…"
He stepped forward.
Passing beneath rows of enormous, jagged teeth that rose like a forest of pale spears.
Into the darkness.
Alice followed.
—
It was massive.
Far larger than expected.
The interior of the vertebrae formed a long, tunnel-like structure, wide enough to be mistaken for a road.
Or a highway.
The surface beneath their feet was smooth bone, worn down by time.
Above—
Gaps between vertebrae allowed beams of light to fall through, illuminating parts of the tunnel in stark contrast.
The path inclined upward.
Disappearing into shadow.
"…We're close" Caspian murmured.
Now—
Even Alice could hear it.
Not the heartbeats.
Something else.
A clattering sound.
Echoing.
Rhythmic.
Metal against bone, perhaps.
Or something close to it.
Her mount's legs clicked softly against the surface as they moved, their sound extremely similar to that they could hear.
The sound echoed.
Multiplied.
Answered.
—
Then—
Silence.
The clatter stopped.
The heartbeats—
Paused their movements.
Caspian's eyes narrowed.
"They know we're here."
—
He moved faster.
No point hiding now.
—
And then—
Velpam appeared.
Right in front of him.
Smiling.
Calm.
Amused.
"Aah…" he said softly, almost pleased. "The familiar smell of a divine shadow…"
Caspian didn't slow down.
There has only been one person thag Caspian knew who matched that two worded description.
"Look."
Velpam pointed downward.
At the floor.
Caspian followed his gaze.
Nothing.
Just bone and darkness.
"…There's nothing."
Velpam moved his finger slowly.
Tracking something.
"…Follow."
Caspian's eyes sharpened.
He adjusted his focus.
Followed the invisible line.
Step by step.
Then—
He lifted his gaze.
Further.
Further—
And saw them.
A pair of black eyes met his.
Even in the darkness.
Even at that distance.
Recognition struck instantly.
"Sunny!!! Cassie!!!"
His voice echoed.
Loud.
Too loud.
Alice's face lit up instantly.
"It's really them?!"
"Damnation!"
Velpam's voice exploded in his mind.
"What an idiotic act! With this echo? You are lucky if nothing hears that!"
Too late.
A few seconds later—
They met.
Close enough to see clearly.
The first to speak—
Was Sunny.
Low voice.
Sharp.
Angry.
"Damnation! What an idiot! And you took survival class with me?!" he hissed. "Have you not heard the echo around here? What would happen if something thinks dinner is served?"
Caspian blinked.
Then—
Covered his own mouth before laughting.
That was exactly what Velpam had said.
"…Oh… sorry…" he muttered awkwardly. "I got a bit excited to see someone i know…"
Behind them—
Alice and Cassie were already speaking quietly, their voices filled with relief and excitement.
Alive.
They were alive.
The third figure stepped forward.
She had white hair and had a silver armor with familiar seven star insignia in its chest, as well as on Alice's armor.
Nephis.
Caspian recognized her instantly, the only other sleeper of his generation who got a true name on her first nightmare.
Her voice was calm.
"We can leave the reunion for later. The sun is setting. We need shelter."
—
Caspian glanced upward instinctively.
She was right.
The light filtering through the vertebrae was dimming.
Fast.
"…Right."
He turned.
"Follow me. I have my ways to find safe paths."
Alice immediately backed him up.
"It's true. We survived thanks to that. You should follow him."
—
Without hesitation—
She ordered her mount to move and follow him.
Caspian leading.
—
Nephis followed next.
Then Cassie on top of her own mount.
—
Sunny stayed behind for half a second.
"W-wait! I need to check for danger first! I have a scout—"
"…Damnation!"
He ran after them anyway.
—
They moved fast.
Through the spine.
Upward.
Guided by his instinct.
And corroborated by the Stargaze.
—
Nothing stopped them.
No creatures.
No ambushes.
No resistance.
The inside of the skeleton was empty.
Dead.
Still.
—
By the time they reached the higher sections—
The sun had almost set.
Darkness crept in.
The distant sound of rushing water echoed through the hollow bones.
The return of the dark sea.
—
They stopped.
A suitable place.
High enough.
Narrow enough to defend.
Safe.
For now.
—
Sunny took the saddlebags off the scavenger.
Which Caspian now knew was an echo, of course it couldn't be just a pet.
And dismissed it, making their camp instantly feel much roomier.
—
They made camp quickly.
Efficiently.
Everyone knew what to do even with a couple more heads on the group.
—
Soon—
Silence.
Tiredness.
Relief.
—
They were all filthy.
Covered in dirt.
Blood.
Salt.
The girls took the first opportunity to clean themselves.
Caspian didn't complain.
He simply walked a short distance away and sat down.
—
A few moments later—
Sunny joined him.
Sitting nearby.
Watching him.
—
"…How did you see me?"
Caspian raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
Sunny's expression hardened slightly.
"Back in the spine."
A pause.
"In the dark."
"You saw my shadow, didn't you?"
Caspian blinked.
"When we heard you" Sunny continued "I sent it ahead to scout. Thought you were a threat."
His gaze sharpened.
"But you looked straight at it."
A beat.
"Even when it moved."
Another.
"You followed it with your gaze, like you could see it."
Silence.
"And that's not all."
Sunny leaned forward slightly.
"You saw me."
"In complete darkness."
"…How?"
—
Caspian smiled.
Calm.
Natural.
"I have an Attribute that lets me see in the dark."
True.
"And like I told you before…"
A slight tilt of his head.
"I also have a divine shadow."
That part—
Half true.
Half not.
Velpam was more like a profane shadow to Caspian, but he was there because the curse of Shadow god, so he was indeed a divine shadow.
"But what about you?" he asked smoothly. "You saw me too. And that shadow of yours… what is it?"
—
Sunny's expression shifted.
Reluctance.
Annoyance.
But—
He answered.
Explained his aspect.
—
When he finished—
He looked straight into Caspian's eyes.
"…Damnation."
A pause.
"From now on—think twice before asking me things, alright?"
—
Caspian grinned.
Wide.
Sharp enough to show his fangs.
"Okay, okay… I'll be more careful."
—
Sunny stared at him for a second longer.
Then looked away.
"…We'll see."