Bab 19: Scarlet Leaves
After I opened my eyes, I noticed the tear in my armor—but no wound. Nephis later told me that Pleiades had asked to be healed.
The centurion was dead as well, but what Nephis told me was... strange. She said that one of Pleiades' ravens had swooped in and decapitated it.
In just one strike, a raven had killed an Awakened Monster. It was definitely a humbling experience.
To think that a summon was more powerful than two Sleepers… but I wasn't too embarrassed. I managed to gain something Nephis said was the most important thing in battle—clarity.
I would have dwelled on it longer, but we had things to do. Pleiades wasn't responding, so Nephis and I had to think for ourselves.
Which, now that I think about it, was quite strange.
We had relied on Pleiades so much that it became a startling realization when we had to act on our own. It was impactful, to say the least.
By the time we reunited with cassie, the storm had passed, and the three of us huddled together for warmth.
I hesitated, but seeing Pleiades' raven perched atop one of the dead scavengers watching over us calmed me slightly.
We were dead tired, so we entrusted our lives to the raven. If it could kill an Awakened Monster, then surely we'd be fine.
Luckily, the night passed without incident. In the morning, Nephis and I took meat from the scavengers and the Carapace Centurion, splitting the two soul shards we had obtained from it.
The raven watched us the entire time and seemed intent on leading us to the other side of the island.
We followed along and hid behind a rock. It was a good thing we did, because soon after, a massive creature landed nearby.
It was twice the size of the Carapace Centurion. Its body was as pale as a corpse, with lean muscles rolling beneath its flesh. It had two paws in the back and six protruding messily from its wide chest.
The neck of the flying monstrosity was covered in long black feathers, matching its expansive wings. Its head resembled that of a… raven?
I glanced back at the rock we were hiding behind and saw the raven hiding with us. Almost like it noticed my stare, it locked eyes with me.
Looking up slightly, I noticed Nephis eyeing the raven too, likely coming to the same realization I had.
The raven seemed even more confused than we were. It glanced at both of us before closing its eyes and looking away, clearly annoyed. It was actually quite humorous.
[Making fun of my raven, are you? That won't go unpunished] Pleiades' voice boomed toward me, and I almost yelped before managing to close my mouth.
Nephis shot me a dire look, making me lower my gaze.
(What happened to you? Where have you been? I've been trying to contact you for so long!) I let out more of my thoughts than I intended. I really needed to get that flaw under control.
[Aww, you're so sweet when you don't want to be. Well, I was asleep. I had to heal you so you wouldn't lose too much blood, and Nephis finished the job] Pleiades explained casually. For the first time, it was nice to hear his voice again.
Then, I heard the familiar whisper of the spell:
[You have been given a Memory.]
My eyes widened with confusion.
[Go on, hold hands. Time to dress our dear lady Nephis.]
I looked at the Memory:
Memory Rank: Awakened.
Memory Type: Armor.
Memory Description: [Born in the all-consuming darkness, seven valiant heroes made an oath to return light to the cursed land. Time has erased their names and faces, but the memory of the defiant oath still remains.]
(Why do you want me to give this to Nephis?)
[Isn't it obvious? She needs some good armor—for both fighting purposes and, of course, clothing. Plus, I don't want you getting distracted every time you see her.]
My mind drifted back to when Nephis' seaweed outfit was eaten away by the acid from one of the Nightmare Creatures we had fought.
I could feel my cheeks flush, but my attention shifted as the winged monstrosity flew away, carrying the corpses of the centurion and the scavengers with it.
(What was that thing?)
[My raven's grandpa] Pleiades replied casually.
(Oh really...) I rolled my eyes and sighed, which Nephis noticed.
"Haha, Pleiades is back" I said nervously, looking toward where the creature had flown.
"Does he know what that was?" she asked.
'Apparently, he says it's his perfectly... moderately normal raven's grandpa.'
(Can you tell me what it actually is?)
[Nah, I'll let your flaw do the work.]
(… Dam—)
The pressure became too much, and I stuttered, "Well... he said that... that it's... the raven's grandpa."
In my head, I heard that bastard cackling. Nephis' mouth hung slightly open—it was quite adorable, really.
'Why am I having these thoughts? That bastard is rubbing off on me. Damn him!' Right then, I heard giggles from Cassie, her laughter contrasting with the gloomy surroundings. The situation seemed to brighten a little, and even Nephis had a small smile on her face.
'Was this what he had planned? I guess he's not so bad.'
[Why would you say something so stupid? That's clearly a Cursed Herald—or maybe a different type of Spire Messenger] Pleiades said, judging and annoyed.
'Nevermind.'
While we were relaxing after the battle, I noticed Nephis sitting at the edge of the island, gazing peacefully at the setting waves.
[Go on, do your stuff] Pleiades encouraged. His words didn't help me in the slightest.
(Why do I have to give it to her? You're the one who wants to give it to her.) My protests fell on deaf ears as he didn't respond.
I faintly heard him muttering something about "Sunphis being set into motion" whatever that meant.
Resigning myself, I made my way over to where Nephis was sitting and took a seat beside her. She glanced at me briefly, then turned her attention back to the scenery. Sitting next to her, I didn't know what to say.
(What should I say?) I asked Pleiades, who giggled mischievously.
[Just talk to her. Is it really that hard? Although, if you squirm a bit more, she might think it's cute.]
'No help whatsoever, just as expected,' I thought, letting out a sigh. Deciding to distract myself, I checked my progress and opened up my runes.
Shadow Fragments: [72/1000]
The progress wasn't bad. Considering that I'd gained four soul shards after Pleiades defeated the Centurion, plus the multiple scavengers we killed along the way, this number was definitely acceptable.
Summoning my courage, I looked at the same scenery Nephis was focused on and said:
"You saved my life yesterday. Thank you."
She glanced at me from the corner of her eye before looking back at the horizon.
"Yes, I did." She paused for a moment and then continued, "But that should be a given. We're allies, after all, so no thanks are needed. Besides, without you and Pleiades, we wouldn't have made it this far as easily as we did. Your wounds were already nearly healed, too. I'm guessing Pleiades did most of the work; I just finished the rest."
[Ahh, getting praised by the Changing Star! I'm shivering with ecstasy,] Pleiades teased.
I forced myself not to roll my eyes. Nephis wasn't usually this talkative, so her words took me by surprise. She continued:
"Not like I did much, though. I just held it off for a few minutes while dealing minimal injuries."
Her words made my eyes widen slightly, and my thoughts drifted. It was true—Pleiades had really saved the day.
Not just once, but multiple times. Meanwhile, we had been leeching off his success. The feeling of uselessness was terrible, but it was definitely a motivator.
With a sigh, I held out my hand toward Nephis. She fully turned to address me, her expression unreadable.
"I have a present" I said.
She didn't respond, and I felt my throat dry out and my determination waver.
"It's an armor Memory... so give me your hand."
Her gaze pierced through me, but eventually, she extended her hand. Not wanting to delay the process any longer, I took her hand and willed the Memory to leave my soul sea.
Just before it left, I found myself thinking how soft and cold her skin was.
She blinked and retracted her hand, stepping a few feet away from the edge of the island. The Memory wove itself into existence, and soon, her body was covered entirely by intricate white-plated armor.
Excitedly, I asked "How is it?"
Nephis examined the armor briefly, then looked at me and gave an expressionless nod.
"Much better," she said.
Finally, she was dressed appropriately for both battle and survival. However, she looked at me again and asked, "How long have you had this?"
Clearing my throat, I answered, "Today, actually. Pleiades told me to give it to you."
"Why did he want to give it to me?"
'I liked it better when she didn't talk so much.' I sighed, but the pressure of the flaw became too strong, forcing me to answer.
"Well, he said he wanted to get you good armor for battle... and to give you actual clothes... while also dressing you so that I wouldn't get distracted." My cheeks flushed, and I refused to make eye contact.
'No wonder he worded it like that, that scheming litt—' I thought.
"Ah, I see. I understand," Nephis replied, her expression still neutral but her words carrying weight.
'Yeah, I'll find a way to get revenge at some point' I promised myself. With that done, we relaxed for another day before finally heading north.
On the journey, my Echo was back in action, and we made quick progress. The three of us could now handle a trio of scavengers without much trouble. My Echo would take down one, while Nephis and I handled the other two.
Our success was largely thanks to a combination of Pleiades' storage Memory and his newly strengthened raven. If one of us couldn't finish a creature off, the raven certainly could.
After about a month of this, we encountered something strange—a massive blood-red tree. Its leaves danced in the wind, creating an eerie yet mesmerizing sight. As it came into view, Pleiades' voice echoed in my mind:
[Hoho, it's time, Sunny. Time for some gardening.]
A/N: Okay so, i have a plan, i'll keep on posting longer chapters on the regular scehdule, but after... let's say when kai appears i'll shorten the chapters to 1200+ words, but with the shorter chapter i'll release 5 times a week, from monday to friday while taking the weekends to get some fresh ideas.
While i like writing longer chapters this novel was only meant as a little passion project, so i think it better for you readers if you could tune in every week for a bit and just read it real quick.
This was just meant for people to read real quick nad enjoy, i'll also answer any question that's asked in the comments unless it directly spoils what i'm planning.
ANd thank you all for the support, it really means a lot.
Sincerely...
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone