After everyone woke up, they sat in a circle to have breakfast and finish talking about what they started last night.
"So, we should finish our conversation from last night, with more detail, we depend on each other to survive after all"
Alice said, still inside her sleeping bag, which was half open, to keep her warm.
"I guess it's fair..."
Nephis answered and stood in silence for a bit, measuring her words.
"I have an affinity to fire and light and a strong affiliation for divinity, and my ability can be used to heal...and for my memories, i have a good sword, this armor, and a rope."
Cassie talked next.
"My ability allows me to see people's attributes, and some times i have visions, past or future i suposse, i don't have much experience with that yet, to put it simple i'm an oracle, the Endless Spring is my memory."
She gave a huge smile, and Sunny talked lastly from that trio.
"I have an affinity to shadows, almost like nephis, i have a slight affiliation to divinity, and my luck can be rather harsh some times, or it can be good, i think the only time this last one happened was when i encountered these two, i would already be dead. My ability is that my shadow can move freely, i use it to scout, we share sight and hearing so i can spot danger before encountering it since is fast and stealthy, and i can see in the dark. For my memories i have this armor, a sword, and a really loud bell, and i have a scavenger as an echo".
When he finished speaking, Alice, whose face had subtly changed when Sunny mentioned his Attribute, frowned slightly.
"Wait a moment Sunny, that Attribute about luck, can it be...Fated?"
Sunny's eyes widened as if someone had forcibly pulled them open.
"It is Fated, how do you know?"
"Because i also have it..."
Silence fell over the group.
It wasn't unheard of for people to share Attributes—but it was somewhat rare. Usually, it happened within same houses, usually they shared charasteristics because of their bloodline.
But here?
Five strangers.
Two from the outskirts.
And both shared the same, ominous Attribute.
Fated.
The word lingered in the air like an omen.
"Well…" Alice continued after a moment, forcing a lighter tone "now that i talked...i also have an Attribute that gives me affinity to sorcery...and my only memories are this sleeping bag and this armor...gift from Caspian here."
She smiled, glancing at him.
Caspian cleared his throat slightly.
"Well, it was nothing...for me, i have affinity towards night and blood and as Sunny here, i also have a slight affiliation to divinity. For my memories, i have this armor, a compass that helps us as a very trustworthy guide—it guided us towards you after all—a water sword, and a bottle to satiate my flaw, which is that i need to drink blood from time to time...yeah i know..."
He gave a faint grin, revealing slightly longer fangs than normal.
"I'm totally vampire coded."
A brief pause.
Then—
A small chuckle escaped Cassie's lips.
Even Nephis allowed the faintest curve to touch her lips, althought it looked more like a forced one, it was strange, as she was replicating a smile.
"Well" Caspian added, shrugging lightly "with everything said we can keep moving, right?"
They agreed.
Alice and Cassie were left behind at the camp, protected by Alice's legion and Sunny's echo, while the three of them—Caspian, Nephis, and Sunny—set out to study the surroundings.
—
The climb up the vertebrae was as treacherous as ever.
When they reached the gap, Caspian crouched slightly.
"I'll boost you."
Nephis nodded, stepping forward—
—but what followed was not what she expected.
With a sudden burst of strength, Caspian launched her upward.
Not a simple boost.
Not assistance.
A clean, controlled throw.
Nephis shot into the gap effortlessly, landing on the upper spine without needing to grab or climb.
She stood there, momentarily still.
Surprised.
It lasted less than a second.
Then, without comment, she lowered her golden rope.
Sunny climbed up first.
Caspian followed.
—
When they finally stood atop the gargantuan spine, they turned west.
And froze.
The labyrinth—
Changed.
The crimson coral that had defined their world for weeks… was gone.
Or rather—
It was dying.
Grey.
Drained.
The once vibrant structures now stood twisted and brittle, like corpses frozen mid-decay. The ground beneath them had lost its rich, blood-like hue, replaced by ash-colored sand that stretched endlessly into the distance.
It was as if something had sucked the life out of them.
Further ahead, the labyrinth didn't just change.
It collapsed.
Walls crumbled into dunes of grey dust, forming a vast wasteland that looked utterly alien.
Empty and silent.
Caspian narrowed his eyes slightly.
There were no monsters.
Not a single one.
And somehow—
That was worse.
Far in the distance, one thing stood above the rest.
A hill.
Massive.
Covered in ash.
And atop it—
A tree.
A colossal tree.
Its trunk was black as the abyss, rising like a tower into the sky. Its branches stretched wide, casting a vast shadow over the hill, while its leaves burned crimson, vibrant and alive against the dead world surrounding it.
Sunny swallowed.
"What… the hell… is that?"
Nephis didn't answer immediately.
Her gaze lingered on the tree.
Thinking.
"A safe place perhaps?" Caspian muttered, uneasy. "…But it is a bit creepy."
At that moment—
Something glinted.
A flash of light beneath the tree.
Bright.
Sharp.
Gone.
Then again.
Like a reflection.
Sunny shivered.
His mind instantly went back to the night before.
The mirror-like sea.
The feeling of being watched.
He didn't like it.
Not one bit.
"What do you think?" he asked after a while.
Nephis remained silent for a few seconds.
Then—
"This is the only way west."
Sunny grimaced.
Of course it was.
"…So, we are going?"
Nephis hesitated for the briefest moment.
Then—
"Is the only choice we have."
—
They returned to the camp.
Explained what they have seen.
And prepared to leave.
But before that, Cassie stopped them and said to nephis and Sunny.
"I have thought about it, and i think it's better if we told them about my vision and dream."
To which Nephis answered saying.
"If you think it is necessary..."
Cassie nodded and tried looking at them, because they were in silence she aimed her gaze a bit to the left from them.
She corrected her gaze when Caspian said.
"Well, what is it?"
Cassie explained.
"To the west, there is a castle where sleepers survive."
Alice and Caspian looked to eachother, Caspian answered.
"We know."
"What? How do you know? You don't have an oracle"
Sunny interrupted them.
"Actually, my compass is a bit of an oracle itself, althought that was the only vision i have seen yet."
Cassie cleared her throat.
"Well, that made it easier, but it seems there is something you don't know, i had another a dream, we don't know what it means, but i believe the better move would be telling it."
Choosing the right words, Cassie started speaking, this time with the power you would expect an oracle of the stories talk.
"The first thing i saw was… a boundless darkness locked behind seven seals. Something vast was churning in the darkness. I felt like if I directly saw it, I would lose my mind. As I watched, terrified, the seals broke one after another, until only one remained. And then that seal broke, too."
She waited a bit, to make sure they were following her, then continued.
"After that… It was as though my mind shattered into a thousand shards, each shard reflecting its own image. Most of them were dark and scary. Some I have already forgotten, sorry. The other…"
"I saw the human castle again. Only this time, it was at night. There was only two things in the black skies, a pale moon, and a lonely star, and under their light, the castle was suddenly consumed by both fire and the tides of the sea, with rivers of blood flowing down its halls."
"I saw a corpse in a golden armor sitting on a throne; a woman with a bronze spear drowning in a tide of monsters; an archer trying to pierce the falling sky with his arrows."
"I also saw a fairy on a crumbling tower, giving her wings to her storybook, hoping it reached a paradise, and a knight and a princess looking for eachother on the darkness, and when their fingers touched, a blinding light emanated from the knight, iluminating the night."
"On the city, a dark tree extended it roots everywhere, but it was drowned in blood, leaving only a single flower."
"In the end, I saw a colossal, terrifying crimson spire. At its base, seven severed heads were guarding seven locks. And at the top...an angel were fighting hungry shadows while the moon tried to drown them in its light, but the angel was consumed by the hungry shadows, who was set on fire, after tasting the blood of the angel, the shadows placed their gaze upon the pale moon, and when it was about to reached it, the moon bleeded, becoming a crimson moon, which blood drowned everything..."
While saying her dream, Cassie looked like she was getting more pale the more she remembered.
—
And from inside Caspian's soul sea, Velpam, who was watching from Caspian's eyes, clenched his jaw, like he have understood something.