Night in the Dark City wasn't simply the absence of light; it was a physical entity, a heavy mantle that smelled of ancient stone, mold, and the imminent death that lurked on every corner. Ash stood up on the plateau, adjusting the straps of his armor with slow, precise movements. His yellow eyes, now brighter in the gloom, fixed on the labyrinth of ruins stretching at his feet.
There was something different about him tonight. The presence in his Sea of Soul, that strange vibration that had awakened after consuming the fragments earned in the game, pulsed to the rhythm of his own heart. He no longer felt the apathetic emptiness from before. Now he felt an urgency, a need for movement that only the steel and blood of abominations could satisfy.
He took the first step to leave the safety of the plateau, but before he could descend the stone path, a firm voice stopped him.
"Where are you going?"
Ash stopped dead, but didn't turn around immediately. Nephis was there, leaning against the doorframe of their shelter. Her gaze was calm, but her eyes didn't leave his back.
"It's time for me to get stronger," Ash replied, his voice sounding deeper in the night's silence.
Nephis raised an eyebrow, pushing off the wall with the grace of a waking predator.
"Are you sure about this?" she asked, with a trace of skepticism. "Facing the abominations of this city alone is... ambitious, even for you."
Ash shrugged, finally turning to face her. A small, almost challenging smile appeared on his lips.
"Don't worry. They're just abominations."
Nephis blinked, and for a brief moment, her mask of coldness showed a crack of genuine surprise. The echo of her own words, the ones she used to downplay the most extreme danger, resonated between them. Ash was quoting her, not mockingly, but with the same absolute conviction she usually projected.
After a few seconds of silence where only the wind howling through the cracks of the plateau could be heard, Nephis walked towards him, unsheathing her sword with a metallic sound that cut through the air.
"I'll accompany you," she stated.
"It's not necessary," Ash retorted, although he knew arguing with her was like trying to stop an avalanche. "I can do it alone. I need to test something."
Nephis reached his side and stared at him intently, with those eyes that seemed to see beyond flesh and bone.
"We're partners, Ash. And I'd hate to see you die from a 'simple venom' in some alley," she said, making a direct reference to the scare they'd had that very morning with the Fallen Beast.
Ash sighed, but couldn't help the corner of his lips from curling slightly. Nephis didn't ask for permission; she simply established reality. And the reality was that, despite his new sensations, having the Changing Star watching his back was an advantage no sane man would refuse.
"Alright," Ash conceded, nodding. "But I'm warning you: we're going to fight abominations until the sun comes up. Non-stop. I want to clear this sector of the city."
Nephis sheathed her sword for a moment to adjust her gear, a gesture of approval on her face.
"That's fine. I've been somewhat bored these last few days," she replied with a naturalness that would have horrified any other Sleeper. "Keeping myself focused for a while will do me good."
Ash looked her up and down, shaking his head as he began to descend towards the ruins.
"You're weird, Changing Star. Really weird."
Nephis followed closely, her light step making no sound on the loose stones.
"Look who's talking," she replied with a touch of hidden amusement in her voice.
As they descended from the plateau, the air grew denser, laden with a stench of sulfur and stagnant mud. Ash's first target wasn't a coincidence; his instinct guided him towards a sunken plaza where the ground seemed to pulse.
"There they are," Ash whispered, pointing towards what was once a botanical garden.
From the cracks in the stone emerged the first Mud Lizards. They were repulsive creatures, about two meters long, with rough, earthy-colored skin that blended perfectly with the ruins. Their eyes, located on the sides of their flat heads, glowed with a pale light upon detecting the intruders' heat.
Without needing an order, both launched into the attack. Ash moved with a fluidity bordering on the supernatural, dodging the lizards' lateral tail swipes while his sword sought the soft joints between their scales. Nephis, for her part, was a whirlwind of white precision; each slash of her blade left a trail of heat that incinerated the abominations' viscous flesh.
The fight lasted several minutes, the ground quickly becoming covered in dark blood. However, just as the last of the younglings fell, a dull roar made the walls of the surrounding buildings vibrate.
From a burrow beneath the central fountain, the leader emerged: an Awakened Demon. It was twice the size of the others, with bony horns sprouting from its back and a speed that didn't match its mass. Its first charge was so violent it forced Nephis to retreat to cover a flank, leaving Ash face to face with the beast.
Ash felt fatigue beginning to weigh on his muscles, but then he remembered the resource he kept for moments like this.
"Blood Sacrifice!" he roared mentally.
Upon activating his sword's enchantment, he felt a violent pull in his veins. The essence of the creatures he had just killed was drained by the blade, and in an instant, a tide of vitality coursed through his body. His stamina was restored, and his energy, which had begun to falter, blazed anew. With a battle cry, Ash dodged a bite from the Demon and plunged his steel deep into the creature's chest, twisting the blade to ensure death.
The Demon let out a final death rattle and collapsed.
After collecting the soul fragments and consuming them, Ash felt that strange presence inside him calm somewhat, fed by the power obtained. But the night had only just begun.
"Let's continue," said Nephis, cleaning her sword. "This was just the warm-up."
The following hours were a blur of violence and strategy. They moved through different districts, hunting relentlessly. In areas where the abominations were too numerous or powerful — like a herd of Iron Gargoyles guarding an ancient bridge — Ash used his ability to attract them towards the territory of other creatures.
They would sit in the shadows of buildings, silently watching as two groups of monsters tore each other apart, then move in to finish off the wounded survivors. It was an efficient and brutal way to gain soul fragments without exhausting their own strength.
When the sun finally began to peek out, tinting the sky with those grayish, dying colors so typical of the Dark City, both began the journey back. Their expressions reflected extreme exhaustion: deep dark circles, clothes stained with a mixture of blood of different colors, and slow, heavy movements. They had kept their word; they hadn't stopped all night.
Upon reaching the shelter on the plateau, the warmth of the small house welcomed them. Ash didn't even have the strength to remove all his armor.
Without saying a word, and without thinking about anything but the weight of his eyelids, Ash collapsed onto a pile of abomination pelts that served as a bed. Sleep claimed him before his head touched the leather.
...
A few hours later, when he woke up, he summoned the infinite water bottle. After quenching his thirst, he left the house and saw Nephis, who was meditating with her eyes closed. She wished him good morning, and Ash repeated the greeting.
He sat back down on the edge of the plateau and observed the ruined city.
After a few moments, he decided to check his runes.
'If I remember correctly, I had 278 soul fragments last week, so I should have at least three hundred,' he thought.
Name: Ashfall
True Name: Dream of Oblivion
Rank: Sleeper
Aspect: Ghost
Aspect Rank: Divine
Soul Fragments: [586/1000]
Aspect Ability: [Soul Guide]
Innate Ability: [Guidance]
Attributes: [Nothing] [Blessing of Nothingness] [Spark of Divinity] [Shadows]
Memories: [Nebulous Bow] [Mist Cloak] [Sword of the Seven] [Infinite Spring] [Mortal Arrow] [Ocarina of Calm] [Pale Sting]
Echoes: —
Flaw: [Clemency]
Ash was surprised to see the number of fragments he had managed to gather in less than a week. Although he hadn't expected to have so many, it was welcome; after all, it had cost him a lot of work to get them.
Likewise, he set about studying his three new memories.
He began with the Mortal Arrow. Upon summoning the memory, he observed the familiar sparks that lasted half a second until a long, thin arrow with a metal tip appeared.
Memory: [Mortal Arrow]
Memory Rank: Awakened
Memory Level: II
Memory Type: Weapon
Memory Description: [A hunter believed that to become the best hunter, he only needed one arrow that, once launched, would never miss its target.]
Enchantments: [Tracking] [Return]
[Tracking] Enchantment Description: [When this arrow is shot at a target, the arrow will always hit it.]
[Return] Enchantment Description: [This enchantment allows the arrow to be called back.]
Ash nodded and then set it aside to summon his next memory.
Memory: [Ocarina of Calm]
Memory Rank: Ascended
Memory Level: I
Memory Type: Instrument
Memory Description: [A musician believed that music wasn't only for livening up nobles' parties, but also for bringing calm and tranquility to anyone in need.]
Enchantment: [Melody of Calm]
[Melody of Calm] Enchantment Description: [When a melody is played, the enchantment activates, bringing tranquility and rest to the afflicted and exhausted.]
Ash blinked as he read the runes. He looked at the Ocarina, which wasn't very impressive; it had nine holes and a mouthpiece to blow air into and emit sound. An idea occurred to him, but he decided to test it later.
Finally, he summoned his last memory. A long, single sharp blade appeared in his hand. Its shape was similar to a needle, bone-white in color. The Sting was thin and long; he estimated it was about 130 centimeters long, with an extremely fine tip.
Memory: [Pale Sting]
Memory Rank: Ascended
Memory Level: II
Memory Type: Weapon
Enchantments: [Breaking Point] [Piercing]
[Breaking Point] Enchantment Description: [This Sting allows attacking a specific point to break even the most resistant thing.]
[Piercing] Enchantment Description: [The tip of this Sting pierces everything in its path, as if resistance did not exist.]