Ash reflected in silence as he listened to the sound of the battle below without really paying attention. At some point, he saw how Sunny summoned the Scavenger Echo to escape certain death and create an opening so Nephis could kill the demon more easily.
But because of this move, the Echo had been destroyed, which was a shame since he liked the silly Echo.
Finally, the battle had ended. The demon was dead, and Sunny and Nephis were alive but exhausted.
"Hey, you two, come down, the demon is dead!" Ash heard Sunny's voice.
"Can you go down alone?" Ash asked, looking at Cassie, who nodded her head.
Ash watched as Cassie descended cautiously with the help of the rope, under Ash's watchful gaze. A few dozen seconds passed until the girl reached the ground safely. Ash also descended using the rope. His condition had improved notably, but he was still weak, and it would take him at least a day to return to normal.
Ash guided Cassie towards where Sunny was. The girl asked him if he was injured, which he denied.
Ash observed the corpse of the Carapace Demon. It was a shame the demon had lost, but someone weak didn't deserve to protect the sacred tree.
Ash frowned. Where did that thought come from? And why did he feel the urge to protect that terror?
Oh, why did that thought come?
Ash sighed. His eyes landed on the Soul Tree.
'Bastard, you're trying to control my mind. Well, go ahead and try if you can.' Ash thought, his eyes gleaming with barely contained malice.
Ash walked in silence, circling the corpse of the Carapace Demon, observing Changing Star, who was beaten and somewhat bruised from the fight.
"Hi, Nephis," Ash greeted. "Sorry I couldn't be of help in this fight."
Changing Star nodded.
"It doesn't matter," she said in her usual stoic tone. After a brief pause, she asked:
"What happened to you when that mist appeared?"
"I don't know. But it affected me too much. It's hard to explain," said Ash.
Nephis seemed confused by the strange answer but then simply set it aside.
"Need help getting up?"
"Yes."
Ash helped Nephis to her feet and over to where Sunny and Cassie were waiting. After they all sat down a little away from the corpse, Sunny began to recount the short but intense confrontation against the Carapace Demon.
Ash looked at the demon's corpse.
"Want to eat Demon meat?" he asked.
Cassie shook her head.
"I'm... not sure about that."
"Why?" asked Sunny, looking hungrily at the corpse of the thing that had almost killed him.
"Well, it just seems weird to eat the meat of an intelligent creature. Even if it was evil. I hadn't thought about it before, but now... eh, it just doesn't seem right, I guess."
The group fell silent. Ash simply didn't care; eating monsters regardless of their rank or intelligence was fine with him.
"I'm sorry. I know it sounds ridiculous, but that's how I feel. You, Neph, and Ash don't have to do the same."
Sunny shook his head.
"No, you might be right. I understand... more or less. It's just that we didn't bring any provisions with us, so we won't be able to eat anything unless we go hunting."
Cassie sighed, then her face lit up as she remembered something.
"What about the fruits of the great tree? I bet they're—"
"No." Ash interrupted Cassie with a cold voice, causing the other three to look at him.
"Why not?" asked Cassie.
"Those fruits give me a bad feeling. Something is wrong with this place, and I don't know what it is yet," he said calmly.
Of course, he could tell them directly that they were slowly starting to be influenced by the Terror, but Ash needed Sunny to consume the Weaver's lineage.
"I think the same as Ash," said Sunny, frowning.
"You're being paranoid, aren't you? A tree is a tree. In fact, I think it's a wonderful example of how life can prevail against all odds, even in this terrible place. I'm willing to bet its fruits are wonderful."
"Ash and Sunny are right, Cass. There are too many strange things about that tree; eating its fruits would be too risky."
Ash remained silent, saying nothing. He felt the Terror's influence increasing over those three and slowly over him as well, although his mental barriers blocked a large part of the influence, and much of it was aimed at him.
Ash looked at Sunny.
"By the way, Sunny, what happened to the Echo?"
Sunny froze, then looked away, remaining silent for about two seconds before responding.
"It was destroyed in the fight. I had to use it to survive and secure a hit for Nephis."
"It's okay. Although it's a shame because we won't be able to move as fast as before."
"Yeah. It's a... uh... shame."
"Did you lose your sword too?" asked Nephis, looking at Sunny, who nodded.
Ash yawned, listening only superficially as he watched Nephis hand over the Midnight Fragment.
After Sunny analyzed his new weapon, they moved their camp near the tree, away from the dead demon.
Ash watched as, after a few hours, everyone fell into a sleep, except Cassie, who struggled not to succumb to the Terror's influence.
"Ash," Cassie said, half-asleep, her voice somewhat desperate.
"Relax, Cassie, I know. Leave the rest to me," Ash said, looking at Cassia.
"Tell Sunny to go exploring," the girl said, falling asleep.
Ash sighed, watching the needle messengers circling above the crown of the Soul Tree.
Getting to his feet, he summoned the Seven's Sword and attacked the tree. However, as he suspected, it didn't even cause a scratch, either to the wood or the Terror's soul.
Its soul was powerful and too taut; it felt like cutting a large rock with a rotten branch.
"I guess I won't kill you for now, but I will eventually," he said, looking at the tree, which remained impassive.
Ash simply sat on the ground, watching the crest of bones from dead leviathans in the distance.
Closing his eyes, he entered his soul sea. Upon entering, he observed that everything was in chaos.
His soul was weak. The water below, always calm, was agitated. The gray clouds had darkened, and the omnipresent mist had become denser than before.
"Whatever that was last night, it wanted to tear my soul into a million pieces," Ash murmured.
Lifting his gaze, he observed his Soul Core, which had some cracks that were slowly repairing themselves.
Letting out a sigh, Ash left his soul sea. Opening his eyes, he simply breathed in the fresh air and ignored the Terror's attempt to influence and control him.