As the last bits of seawater disappeared beyond the ground, Sunny summoned sloth, silently watching as the silver string entered into his soul.
He had to know if the mimic was still there, he couldn't risk their lives again.
Yes, it was all his fault.
As the last bits of darkness turned into shimmering colour, he looked around the statue, trying to find any signs of the creature.
Contrary to his expectations, he was met with the retreat of the dark sea, as the sun enveloped the world with its warmth. It was then, he knew — the creature was truly gone, with the blinding star in the sky purging it to an eternity in the abyss.
'I was right!' He exclaimed, eyes wide open with joy.
The sun was indeed the answer — the solution to the problem his curiosity had brought.
They were safe, truly.
As sloth removed itself from him, his eyes fluttered open, and… well, nothing happened. Truth to be told, Sunny wasn't sure that the mimic could even affect him — it seemed to require direct eye contact, a flaw that prevented it from killing mere Sleepers he supposed.
Well, it was safe. Probably.
"You can open your eyes. It's gone." He whispered, hoping that Nephis and Cassie would be able to hear him.
Yet nothing happened, or more concisely, they didn't dare to open their eyes.
"I had a vision," He added with a sigh, "One of the present. The sun banished the sea, in turn banishing that mimic as well. It… it should be safe."
After a while, Nephis' answered him.
"Are you sure?" She asked, as if doubtful if he were real, if this wasn't just another illusion by that damned mimic.
He had to prove to her that he was indeed Sunless.
But… how? They had only met for a few days, and he didn't know a thing about her.
'Damnation! What could I possibly know that the mimic doesn't?'
His thoughts raced, trying to figure out a secret shared between him and her, something no creature should know. An idea entered his mind.
'Yes… that could work.'
"The Saga of Odysseus. Is that enough for you to trust me?"
Soon enough, a sort of shifting could be heard — Changing Star must have opened her eyes,
However, Cassie was still there, unmoving, her body trembling against his, as if scared of whatever was happening.
…She was still laying atop of him, and, well, it was not an enjoyable experience.
If this were any other day, Sunny would have had other thoughts, such as how this was the first time he was in such close proximity with a girl. And how Cassie's body was pressed against him and how she felt warmth and how the seaweed brassiere left nothing to the imagination and how—
His cheeks began to heat up.
'Pure thoughts Sunny! Pure thoughts!'
But on the other hand… Maybe the dream and the mimic wasn't so bad…
Oh. The dream. He completely forgot about that.
Almost immediately, glimpses of what had transpired filled his mind, his head light beyond belief. Nightmare — that was the only way he could describe what he had just seen.
A flash of pain hit his head, and a sequence of images flashed and flashed and flashed and—
Pain. That was all he could feel.
Tears began to roll down his eyes.
…Another scream threatened to escape his mouth.
Yet he endured, his hands moving as fast as possible to cover it, as he spasmed on top of the headless statue, withering, shaking.
He couldn't summon the mimic once again, he couldn't make the same mistake! Cassie, Nephis… they would die!
'I can't survive without them! So stop complaining about the pain and bite your teeth and endure it!' He screamed to himself.
"Move…" He weakly croaked out, he didn't want to hurt her, he didn't want to hurt anyone else.
In another reality, Cassie's guts were spilling out, bloody tears falling from her eyes; In another reality, Nephis' silver eyes were dim without light, as blood flowed from her mouth. They had been looking at him, eyes full of blame, and… it was all his fault.
It would have happened. It could have been them.
Sloth saved him, sloth saved them all.
It was then that the true realization of his actions hit him in the face — he had messed with the unknown and the obscure — his ambition to understand fate would bite him in the back one day.
Knowledge. It was the most seeked, yet the heaviest thing in the world.
—-
"Move…" Sunny croaked out, his bright, relieved face morphing into something entirely different — the same expression Cassie had seen on his face just before the mimic had arrived.
Countless questions arose in her mind, but she knew better than to ask. She was already overstaying her welcome there, and this Sunny… it was definitely him, the mimic… it wasn't like that.
Besides, she had already opened her eyes the moment his confident tone switched to the weak one after that vision.
Standing up, she surveyed her surroundings, and the impact the mimic had on the cohort.
Sunny was still there, lying, trembling, muttering under his breath. While Nephis was looking deep into the distance, her guard still raised.
They were all wary, rightfully wary. Though the mimic had clearly implied that it had left, who knows if it were a lie? Who knows if it wouldn't trick them, just like it had done mere moments ago.
But… They have to move, they have to know, they have to understand. And the key of understanding what had happened laid below them, shivering from the burden of knowledge.
Cassie supposed she could somewhat relate to him — the burden of knowing was heavy, for it forbade you from telling anyone — carrying forbidden knowledge was heavy. And she knew it. The times she had to sustain it were little, and of no consequence… but it still tasted bitter on her lips.
She could only imagine how it felt atop the shoulders of someone unfamiliar with it.
'Damn it… It should be me…' She thought, as she looked at the figure of the blind seer. He didn't look like the confident liar she knew so well, but a boy, and more importantly, a child. Not that she had anything to say, she was a child as well.
However, her thoughts were rightfully justified — Sunny's origins were one from the outskirts, he knew how to fight, he knew how to survive, unlike her.
He would be better with the role of fighting, of supporting Nephis, of growing alongside her — his potential was cut off by that flaw, or… how could he defeat the Scavenger alone?
Cassie wanted to laugh. Yeah… She would be more useful to Neph as a seer. At least then she wouldn't hold the cohort down — the useless person who couldn't even hold her own against an Awakened Beast.
'Nevermind, this… this is not the time to think about such things. We… we still have to go on, towards the west.'
From then on, she waited, countless thoughts spiralling in her mind, both negative and positive, but mostly negative. Eyes still trailing on top of the trembling body of Sunny, she stood by him, until he was ready.
After a while, the trembling finally stopped, and Sunny — he was himself again.
Standing up, he blinked twice, thrice, before he noticed her, one way or the other, and smiled.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," He said, the grin on his face surreal.
His eyes darkened — like he was realizing something.
The smile on his lips disappeared.
"We– we have to go." He muttered silently, before lifting his voice again, "The creature! It'll be back, I know it! We have to go, we have to go now!"
Nephis turned, looking at him with those silver eyes of hers, pondering.
After a while, she gave her answer.
"Then we'll go, no matter the risk. We can't possibly risk an encounter with that Creature again."
Though Cassie didn't know Nephis very well, she knew what her decision symbolized. Neph trusted Sunny, or more precisely his visions.
They would risk everything to get away from that mimic.
Nephis looked at her, the flames in her eyes like a faraway dream. A promise of hope within this darkness.
"Get ready for the descent. We'll leave in a few more minutes."
Nodding, Cassie quickly got ready of the little stuff she had — retying her makeshift brasserie, binding her hair into a ponytail, and summoning gloomy.
They had to start the descent. Now.
To get to the other side safely.
So the Creature wouldn't come back.
—-
Amidst the eternal land of crimson corals, and the grey sky, a Centurion roamed the land, together with one of its kind.
It was there, chittering, clattering, eyes scanning the horizon for any signs of… of weaker, but pure enough prey.
A few days ago, it had finished its meal — hunted with the help of its brethren next to it. Food had come easily with such overwhelming power between the both of them, but they had to share it, which meant more hunts.
Not that it would complain — hunting was another kind of ecstacy compared to devouring souls.
It gave it the thrill, the sensation, and… the memories. Sure, it was brief glimpses, images that he would never be able to understand… But it was something nonetheless.
And… It was also in those clear moments, that it was itself again.
Thud.
Thud. Thud.
The Centurion turned its head, its tiny eyes narrowing into the distance.
It knew that thud. Scavengers, they were Scavengers.
Those pesky things weren't that bold. Unless, it was Prey, or, free food.
It focused.
Oh. Soul. The smell of a soul.
There. North. Right near the statue.
A deep sense of hunger rose from deep within it. There were only pesky Scavengers, it would be an easy hunt — the Scavengers knew the rules of the place.
Shifting its eyes towards its companion, they exchanged glances. A deep sense of possession rose from the others eyes, as if telling it that the shards all belonged to it. But… it knew that a fight between them would be the worst decision.
A weakened centurion could get devoured by mere Scavengers after all.
A truce. That was the best option.
It raised its scythe, and the other raised its in return.
Yes. They would split the shards, one for each one of them.
And it wouldn't hurt to devour a few more souls along the way, would it?
Long AN:
This chappa is 1.2k words — short chappa since I'm on vacation for 12 days and didn't have the time to write more :( sorry guys.
On another hand, thanks for the kudos!!! We have reached 50 more in I dunno how many days :) But uhh the webnovel review count is still at 8 so I would appreciate it if more people could try to review there :D
Anyways, I'll reply to comments slower and we'll genuinely might be offline the whole day in the following week, and I do not have time to write :(
So… we'll be increasing the next chappa quota a bit more (I'm learning marketing techniques):
-70 more kudos on ao3 (currently 341, which means we need to reach 411)
-7 reviews (currently 8, which means we need 15 reviews in total)
-Reach 70 black hearts on lost from sight discord thread (currently 56, and we need to reach 70 so 14 more!)
If we reach one of the following options, I'll release a chappa :D
P.S. I actually forgot what this chappa is about since I was on break for a week alr