After the girls returned, refreshed and clean, Caspian and Sunny took their turns to get clean.
The source of their small luxury—
A Memory.
[Endless Spring].
A beautiful bottle made of patterned blue glass. From the opening flowed an unceasing stream of clear, fresh water—cool and pure.
Caspian crouched behind a curved section of bone that served as a crude divider, letting the water run over his hands first.
It felt… strange.
Too clean.
Too real.
Too similar to a normal shower.
For a moment, he simply watched it.
Then, silently, he began to wash.
The dirt, the salt—the layers of survival that had built over days of relentless movement and combat.
At least he didn't needed to worry about things like dry blood or sweat, he always get rid of it using his aspect, of all the things that happened until that moment, and the thing his Aspect has been used for the most was...cleaning, the awesome divine aspect of cleaning, what an incredibly overpowered aspect.
On the other side of the bone wall, Sunny was waiting for the return of the Endless Spring when Caspian talked to him.
"You guys had an endless supply of fresh water?"
His tone wasn't hostile.
But it wasn't neutral either.
There was something in it—something sharp, buried under casual words.
"We had to rely on rainwater or puddles."
A brief pause from Caspian.
Then—
He chuckled.
Low.
Amused.
"You were lucky."
He continued.
Caspian let the water run over his shoulders.
Sunny replied almost instantly.
"We were indeed lucky."
A beat.
"You should try harder."
Caspian raised an eyebrow, even though Sunny couldn't see him.
"Luck is the most valuable skill in any world."
That made him laugh.
Not loudly.
But genuinely.
"…If that's a skill, I guess I didn't invest points in it."
Water kept flowing.
—
By the time they finished, Nephis had already prepared a fire, casting a warm, steady glow over their camp.
The meat cooked quickly.
They poured salt into it—remnants left behind by the retreating dark sea.
It wasn't perfect.
But it was food.
And that was enough.
—
Before joining them, Caspian paused.
He looked at the [Endless Spring] one last time.
Then—
Without a word—
He summoned his Blood Pond.
And he began to fill it.
Carefully.
Everything that wasn't blood—
Every empty space—
Filled with fresh, clean water.
A quiet preparation.
A silent advantage.
When he was done, he returned the Memory without comment.
—
They ate.
Quietly.
Fatigue weighed heavily on all of them.
Even Nephis.
Even Sunny.
Even Alice.
The fire cracked softly.
The only sound.
Until—
Nephis spoke.
"What can you two do?"
Her tone was calm.
Direct.
No wasted words.
"We need to know how you are useful."
No hostility.
No arrogance.
Just necessity.
Necessity ruled that place.
—
Alice answered first.
"I can basically use parts of any creature into something like an Echo…"
She gestured lazily with a piece of meat in her hand.
"…if I have a soul shard for it."
Simple and clear.
—
Then—
Caspian.
"I can alter the properties of liquids."
A pause.
"Basically… I need to make my enemies bleed."
His voice remained calm.
"I can make their blood evaporate, thicken… change, whatever i want it to do as long as i'm strong enough."
Another bite.
Casual.
"I can take a Carapace Centurion on my own using just skill and strength too."
He thought of the Centurion he fought on the cliffs, it was true, he killed it without using his aspect.
—
Silence.
Not long.
But enough.
—
Three pairs of eyes focused on him.
Even Cassie, with her blind eyes looked at him.
—
Sunny blinked.
A piece of crab meat still halfway to his mouth.
"You…"
He swallowed.
"You can take a Carapace Centurion with just strength and combat skill?"
A beat.
"That's unbelievable."
—
Cassie smiled softly.
"Indeed… one almost killed us before."
Her head tilted slightly.
"You are really strong."
A small pause.
"As expected of the one who ranked higher than Nephis back at the academy."
Her smile widened slightly.
"She's our powerhouse."
A beat.
"Now… we won't have to worry as much."
—
Caspian waved it off lightly.
"Thanks, but it's nothing."
His tone didn't carry false humility.
But it didn't carry pride either.
Just—
Fact.
"We can explain everything properly tomorrow."
A glance around the group.
"We still need to hear your capabilities too."
A pause.
"But that can wait."
—
No one argued.
They were too tired.
—
They arranged themselves naturally.
Not quite together.
Not quite apart.
Two groups.
Two sides.
Caspian and Alice.
Sunny, Nephis, Cassie.
Close enough to cooperate.
Far enough to stay cautious.
No resentment.
Just instinct built by weeks on their own.
—
Alice's soldiers took positions.
Silent.
Unmoving.
Watching.
An entire night watch that didn't need sleep.
—
One by one—
They lay down.
Closed their eyes.
Let exhaustion claim them.
—
All but one.
—
Sunny remained awake.
And went to practise with the sword, it seems like he was following a strict training regime.
And nearby—
Velpam appeared.
Not fully.
Not physically.
But present.
Moving.
Watching.
Free in a way that only he could be.
Yet it wasn't trully free.
—
Both Velpam and Sunny noticed it.
At the same time.
—
Below—
Far below—
Where the lower part of the spine opened into darkness—
The sea had returned with the night.
The wind had died inside the corpse.
Completely.
For the first time since entering that cursed place—
The dark sea was still.
Perfectly still.
Below the spine, the black water stretched endlessly, its surface flat and unmoving.
Like glass.
No—
Like a mirror.
A mirror made of pure darkness.
Velpam stood at the edge of the bone structure, looking down.
Mesmerized.
Beside him, Sunny stood silently as well, his expression tense.
They both felt it.
That pull.
That quiet, insidious urge.
To step closer.
To look deeper.
To see what stared back.
—
Sunny didn't move.
Fear rooted him in place.
He didn't want to know what his reflection would show.
But Velpam…
Was different.
He stepped forward.
Slowly.
Curiously.
Fearlessly.
Or perhaps—
Recklessly.
After all, what could harm him?
He had no true body.
No flesh.
No bones.
Even if something reached out from that abyss…
What would it strike?
—
He leaned forward.
Looking down.
And saw—
Himself.
A perfect reflection.
Crimson eyes staring back from the endless dark.
Only he—and Caspian—could perceive him.
Not even Sunny, a fellow divine shadow, could sense his existence.
That fact—
Burned.
Deep.
If no one could perceive him…
If no one could acknowledge him…
Then what proof did he have that he existed at all?
None.
Nothing.
Just a presence bound to another.
A shadow under the soul of someone.
—
Slowly—
He raised his hand.
Reached toward the surface.
Touched it.
Or tried to.
His hand passed through without resistance.
No ripple.
No distortion.
No reaction.
Because he wasn't truly there.
—
And yet—
He saw himself.
Clear as day.
Exactly like Caspian.
Same face.
Same form.
Same origin.
—
He didn't mind.
Because it was the truth.
He was Caspian.
And yet—
Not.
—
Memories surfaced.
Not borrowed from anything.
Not shared by Caspian.
His own memories.
—
Darkness.
Endless.
Silent.
A dream without form.
A prison without walls.
He had existed there for as long as he could remember, from the moment an infant Caspian was brought into the waking world by his mother.
Watching nothing.
Feeling nothing.
Waiting—
Without knowing what he was waiting for.
—
Until—
Light.
Crimson.
Burning.
The moment Caspian entered his Soul Sea for the first time—
Velpam awakened.
Truly awakened.
—
The second thing he ever saw—
Was that crimson moon.
—
The first—
The runes.
—
They echoed in his mind even now.
Clear.
Unforgettable.
—
[Shadow God sends blessings from beyond the grave.]
[Shadow under the Soul, receive your blessings.]
—
Blessings...
—
Velpam smiled faintly.
A twisted expression.
Because his situation didn't feel like one.
—
He turned his head slightly.
Looking back.
At Caspian.
Sleeping.
Peacefully.
Unaware.
—
If Caspian died—
He would die too.
Disappear.
Return to nothing.
—
And he refused.
—
Freedom.
The desire of everyone, and yet, those who claim to want it are labeled as mad.
—
Freedom to do what he wanted when he wanted, no body seems to realize that just being in control of your body seems like a blessing in itself.
—
But to gain it…
He needed Caspian.
Alive.
—
His crimson eyes darkened slightly.
A dangerous thought forming.
—
If Caspian trusted him…
He could step out.
Maybe.
Someday.
—
If he didn't…
—
Velpam tilted his head slightly.
The thought lingered.
Unfinished.
Unstable.
—
Break him.
—
The idea felt…
Tempting.
And wrong.
—
Even he didn't know which path he truly wanted and what he has been following.
Because desire—
Raw, unfiltered desire—
Had a way of twisting even the clearest intentions.
—
Slowly—
He stepped away from the edge.
Turning fully toward Caspian.
Watching him.
Studying him.
—
"So…" Velpam whispered softly, his voice barely more than a thought.
"What shall we do… murderer?"
A faint smile curved his lips.
"If you had just a little more determination in your heart…"