Zero was too hesitant to ask about Chaos in the end. It seemed like he still had a touch of suspicion placed on him, and that could hurt their great teamwork.
Caelum was likely asleep now as Zero volunteered to take the first shift. At first, Caelum tried to politely insist that he would, but Zero's mention of the Harvest Tailsiman and its effects on sleep convinced him. Zero was quite happy that Caelum was not suspicious enough to avoid sleeping in his presence.
Looking at the glyphs that were somehow readable in the dark, Zero kept staring at Orgin of Blood.
{
[Origin of Blood](Seeker)
(You inherit the blood of the Forsaken Deity of Life and are a creature of its creation. Thus, your blood is Abyssal, and your being is Forsaken. Your instinct is a weak remnant from that Forsaken Deity. The instinct of your body is therefore Forsaken. A sense of adventure exists within you until you are whole. Seek out the remaining blood to become complete once again.)
}
The description was painstakingly vague.
'How do I inherit blood even. And what kind of adventure is it talking about? Isn't this adventure already enough?'
Despite the meaning of the blessing, Zero was happy to have the blood from an existence that could shape the world. Almost giddy about it.
But he could not fully be. Since apparently it was blasphemy to have? But then why would it be called a blessing and not a curse?
'Do I have more questions than what I started with? Agh, that's another question.'
Zero sat around for more than half the night, pondering and such. Finally, he woke Caelum.
"Wake me up at the first hint of dawn. I'll probably be good to go."
"I feel quite well rested, to be honest. It would be rude for me to deny you sleep."
"Don't worry about. I'll be fine, and I slept extra good yesterday."
"Alright then, I will do that. Goodnight."
"Goodnight."
Caelum passed Zero the drake skin they brought, and Zero laid down on it.
When the first signs of light came, Caelum hesitated a moment and shook Zero awake.
Despite likely being in deep sleep, Zero woke immediately and got up.
Rubbing his eyes, Zero asked, "I can't believe I forgot this, but where are you even heading to?"
"I will head west and hope that Roma lies in wait. We will likely come across a village on our travels, and they can point us the way. I had business in Roma, but I might be too late as of now."
"That works well, I'm heading to Roma too. I'll probably try and check out the statues too."
"Be safe if you do."
It seemed there was a unanimous decision to skip breakfast as neither one mentioned it. So they began their journey in the opposite direction from where the sun rose, westward.
After a bit of walking, Zero opened his map in the glyphs and slightly changed their course to go exactly west. For some reason, Zero thought it would be nice if there were an arrow pointing in the direction they were walking. For now, he just dictated where he was by what land he discovered.
Zero was a bit jealous of Caelum's staff. He was currently using it as a walking stick.
'Ah, who cares? My blade is much better than any staff… I do miss my shield, though, and maybe my trusty spear too.'
Perhaps it was since Zero's memories did not span far, but he felt quite nostalgic about his old weapons. Still, he liked Valiant Blade the most. It just barely etched out his round shield in rankings.
"There is another pond on this island, it seems. Shall we head there and drink water? Usually, the Harvest Gnats and Critters lurk around water, so just be careful if we do decide to go."
"I guess we could then, but let's avoid fighting. I think we are both max level."
Caelum gave him a perplexed look.
"What is a level?"
"Uh, you know the thing that goes up in your scroll. When you break the crystals."
"Ah, I did not know it was called that."
'Doesn't it say Spirit Level in the glyphs? Maybe he is actually the mind-reading dragon."
Zero shook off the odd thought and gazed around the lake once more. Then he happily trotted up to the water. He just thought of something. What did he really look like? He had seen himself in the reflection of his sword, but it was rather hard to discern specific details.
Zero bent over the pond and saw himself staring back. His face shape was the same, not quite round or sharp, but somewhere in between. Perhaps teetering on the sharp side. His hair was the same black, but now he could see that his hair was somewhat wavy. Using his hand, he combed it to the side in a somewhat neat fashion. It was starting to feel weird staring at himself, still.
'Hey, don't I look kinda good? Though it's kinda hard to see now that the water's rippling. Wait, the water is rippling!'
Zero's instincts screamed out danger, quite similar to his first encounter with a Harvest Critter. Instinctively, Zero pulled his head up and moved his right arm. Just as he did, tentacles sprang out of the water, aimed at his head and right arm. They missed by mere centimeters.
Zero fell backwards and quickly pulled in his legs. But this time he was not fast enough. A tentacle caught his right leg and began pulling. Other tentacles came from the water and latched onto the same place.
"Caelum! Under attack, help, help!"
Caelum must have already heard the splash as he was just a couple of meters away, and his staff was loaded into an offensive position. Before Caelum could reach, Zero could feel a gust of wind pushing him away from the pond. Then, when Caelum did reach him, his staff hit down again on the tentacles wrapped around Zero's leg. The force behind the hit was inhuman. A barrage of air supported the hit, and all broke apart from it.
The water was pushed back, and for a second, Zero could see a slimy head. Zero quickly peeled his gaze off and managed to shake off the remaining tentacle and retreat. Caelum grabbed him and helped him up the hill.
Zero could feel his heart beating in his chest, and for the first time on these floating islands, he felt the full fear of an encounter with one of the various beasts here.
When Valiant Blade finally manifested in his hand, he felt calmer and could think a bit more clearly.
Calm enough to notice the skin on his leg had grown an odd color.