After the girl had calmed down, Ash dismissed his Memory and a moment later placed his hand on the girl's shoulder, transferring the Memory.
Cassie's eyes widened greatly as she heard the voice of the Spell in her head.
[You have received a Memory: Mantle of the Mist]
Cassie, reading the runes and the rank of the Memory, opened her eyes like saucers. It was an armor-type Memory of the sixth level of the Ascended Rank.
"B-but... Why are you giving me your armor?" asked Cassie. "And one of such a high level at that?"
Ash looked at Cassia with a calm expression, ignoring the cold breeze that now struck his bare body.
"It's temporary. Until I get another armor. Besides, you're vulnerable; at least that armor will help you survive."
"And what about you?"
"I'll be fine. Now use the Memory to cover your body." After saying those words, he marked the end of the discussion.
Ash calmly watched as gray threads covered the blind girl's body, and after one or two seconds, the gray armor formed, adapting to her body.
He had used the Memory before and knew how comfortable it was, as well as its enchantments and the special enchantment for keeping a calm and rational mind in moments of crisis.
Ash then watched as finally the weak threads of light began to emerge, and with it, the dark sea began to slowly recede.
Minutes passed until the sound of the water receding grew louder.
"What's happening?" asked Cassia curiously.
"The sea is receding as the sun rises," he explained.
"How is that possible?" asked Cassie.
"Who knows. The Dream Realm is strange; mundane logic doesn't work in this place."
Ash decided to change the subject.
"How do you feel with the armor?"
"It's comfortable," said Cassia.
Ash nodded, though of course the blind girl didn't see his assent.
"Right," he said as if now remembering something important.
Ash observed the girl, who had a slight blush on her face.
"I don't know your name."
Ash rolled his eyes.
"I'm Ashfall, but you can call me Ash," he said calmly.
Cassia was surprised.
"You're the other student who has a True Name."
"Yes."
Cassia frowned slightly.
"You're also one of the two who used to sit with me in the cafeteria in silence."
"Yes. I'm not much of a talker. So I choose to stay silent most of the time," he explained while observing how the sun had already risen, revealing the great crimson coral. He also noticed some scavengers heading West towards the corpse of the Fallen near the knight statue.
"By the way, my name is Cassia. But you can call me Cassie."
"Alright."
Ash observed that there were some algae left behind by the retreating dark sea. He also watched the shell scavengers. First, he needed armor as well as soul fragments.
Ash looked at where he was; there were more than a hundred meters between him and the ground, although there were areas where he could descend if he was careful.
"Ash," called Cassie. "Why don't we talk about our abilities and Memories?"
"Well, do you want to start?" asked Ash, moving away from the edge.
Cassie nodded eagerly.
"Well... I can see people's attributes. Sometimes I also have visions. They could be of the future or the past. Or at least that's what I think; it's only happened to me a couple of times. And my Flaw is, well, you already know it," she commented with a slight smile.
Apparently, having someone who helped her and comforted her, even if just a little, had considerably improved her mental state.
"As for my Memories, I have two: a golden rope that can extend, and a bottle of fresh water that's inexhaustible, and a staff that generates wind."
"Is it really inexhaustible?"
"No, it stops after half an hour, but it refills very quickly," she explained, summoning a beautiful blue crystal bottle.
"That's good; we don't have to worry about lack of water."
"Well, my attributes are related to mist. And I can see in the dark. As for my Memories, well, there's the armor you're wearing, a sword, and a bow. As for my Aspect, well, it's a kind of intuition that guides me towards where I want to go."
Cassie tilted her head.
"How does that work?"
"I think of a place, and my Aspect guides me. It's like a mental GPS. For example, if we get separated, I can think of you and get to where you are. It also works with more things."
Cassie seemed to be thinking about something.
"Can you think about where the gate to return to the Awakened world is?"
Ash thought using his Aspect. An instant later, he felt he should go west.
"Yes. I can sense where the gate is, but it's far away. And I don't know the exact area where it is."
Cassie nodded several times.
"How long do you think it will take us to reach the portal?"
"That I don't know. If the sea returns when the sun hides, and recedes when it rises, plus the enemies... I'd say one or two months. If we're lucky and find more Sleepers and work together, that time could be reduced."
"Do you think there's anyone else?"
"I don't know."
Ash honestly didn't know. Things were changing. First of all, he was here instead of Nephis, so there was a chance that Nephis or Sunny weren't on the Forgotten Shore either, perhaps in another area far from this side of the Dream Realm.
If one or both weren't there, then he would have to handle everything. He could obtain the fragments, organize an expedition, gather allies, and more things.
Ash felt like he was getting a headache. Why had his life become so difficult?
He just wanted to live peacefully, away from all the problems, but now he had to deal with all this.
Growl!
And at that moment, both his and Cassie's stomachs growled in protest at the lack of food.
"I-I'm sorry, I couldn't eat anything from nerves before today," she murmured, embarrassed.
"It's okay, I'm hungry too. I'll go get us something to eat. It should take me about twenty or thirty minutes."
Cassie's face paled slightly; a worried look crossed her face.
"A-are you sure?"
"Yes. I'll be fine anyway. Stay here. The armor has an enchantment that allows you to hide your presence as long as you don't move, and if something happens, it has another enchantment to create a mist field. Don't hesitate to use it, understand?"
"Yes," Cassie responded before summoning her yellow rope.
"Maybe this can help you."
Ash took the rope from Cassie's hand.
Walking towards the edge of the coral summit where they were, he sighed before tying the rope to a sturdy area and tensioning it, making sure it would support his weight.
Throwing the rope, it fell to the ground, stopping about a meter from touching the soil.
Grabbing it, he began to descend like a climber. In Julius's classes, he had taught him how to descend from high places and also how to climb them.
Stopping on a large coral branch with algae, Ash grabbed them and wove them together, forming an archaic loincloth as well as a bag to store meat.
Once down on the ground, he felt the cold mud under the soles of his feet. Looking ahead, he summoned his sword.
Ash used his Aspect Ability, wishing to find a shell scavenger. It only took him a few seconds to locate one; there was one not far in his direction, slowly approaching where he was.
Looking east, turning a coral corner, he observed the scavenger, which did the same. Its small eyes immediately filled with rage and hunger as it ran in his direction.
'Well. Let's test my innate ability now.' With that thought, Ash ran towards the scavenger.