Two days had passed since that frenetic assault with Nephis.
Two days in which Ash hadn't allowed himself a single second of weakness. Now, on the seventh night since their arrival in the Dark City, he moved like a true exhalation through the ruins. He was alone, but he had never felt more lethal.
He had learned to deploy the Shroud of Mist to its full extent, creating a zone of white death that disoriented his enemies. Within that mist, Ash wasn't a man; he was a ghost.
With the Pale Needle in his right hand, combat had become a science of surgical precision. Thanks to the Piercing and Breaking Point enchantments, the bodies of fallen abominations and demons felt like wet paper under his blade.
If combat dragged on, the Sword of the Seven came into play. Blood Sacrifice allowed him to drain the essence of the fallen to mend his own flesh and recover lost energy, turning him into an engine of perpetual destruction.
He had just finished with a Mist Demon, a creature that used to be the nightmare of Sleepers due to its ability to camouflage itself. Ash, however, had hunted it in its own element. The Pale Needle had pierced the creature's core before it could even land a swipe.
Ash stood still, sensing through his innate ability how the other vibrations of hostile life remained a few hundred meters away. The silence after the battle was absolute. With a thought, he invoked his runes.
Soul shards: [626/1000]
After gathering the demon's fragments and crushing them with his palm, he felt the flow of power coursing through his system. The counter updated quickly.
Soul shards: [642/1000]
"Slow... but steady," he murmured to himself.
He moved cautiously towards a new area, a place where the air felt heavier and the smell of stale incense and old stone permeated the environment: the ancient Cathedral.
From the entrance of the ruined Gothic arches, Ash stopped. His yellow eyes scanned the depths of the hallways wrapped in a darkness that not even his mist could fully penetrate. He could feel it. A massive presence, cold and overflowing with such pure murderous intent that it made the hair on his arms stand on end.
The Black Knight was there, patrolling the hallways with his armor resonating against the marble, killing anything that dared to profane his domain.
Ash tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword but didn't take a step forward. He knew where his limit was. He still wasn't strong enough to face that guardian, much less to descend into the depths where the Lord of the Dead guarded the necessary key. The Weaver's Mask, that fragment of destiny he so longed for, would have to wait a little longer.
Releasing a sigh that turned into a small cloud of vapor, Ash turned around. There was no glory in unnecessary suicide.
"Someday," he whispered.
He dove back into his own mist, disappearing from the Cathedral's view, returning to the shadows of the city to continue feeding the presence that grew within him.
---
The night gave him no respite, but Ash didn't seek it either. He moved through the outer districts like a silent scythe, reaping the life of every awakened monster that crossed his path. His rhythm was methodical: detect, stalk, pierce with the Pale Needle, and consume.
The counter of his soul vibrated with each death, rising steadily until, just as the nameless sun began to show its pale and sickly light on the horizon, the runes glowed with a new number: 715 fragments.
Ash stopped on the roof of a tilted house, his muscles burning from the sustained effort.
He summoned the Infinite Spring and drank greedily, feeling how the fresh water returned some humanity to him. While catching his breath, he closed his eyes and expanded his perception.
In the distance, he could feel two familiar presences. Cassie and Sunny moved quickly, but in the opposite direction of the Brilliant Castle.
"Has a whole week already passed?" he wondered, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
In this place, where time was measured in blood and interrupted sleep cycles, it was easy to lose count of the passing days.
He stretched, listening to how his vertebrae cracked one by one, before heading back towards the outer settlement. As he advanced, he passed by the remains of his nightly carnage. The corpses of abominations lay scattered through the alleys, hollow and dull after having their soul cores ripped out.
Making a quick calculation, Ash estimated that he had dispatched between forty and sixty creatures that night. It was an impressive number for any Sleeper, although a grimace of dissatisfaction crossed his face as he reviewed his mental inventory: not a single new memory. The Nightmare Spell was being stingy.
He walked for an hour under the grayish light of dawn. When the first shacks of the settlement came into view, he deactivated the Shroud of Mist enchantment. The thick mist that had escorted him all night slowly dissipated, revealing his tired but alert figure.
It didn't take long to see them. Amidst the chaos of hungry Sleepers and ruined buildings, he spotted Sunny and little Cassie. They seemed to be looking for something — or someone — urgently.
Sunny was the first to notice his presence. His expression was a mix of relief and that characteristic irritation of his, while Cassie, despite her blindness, turned her head in his direction as if she could feel him approaching.
---
Ash approached, stopping a few meters from the duo, and smiled, something that disconcerted Sunny since he had never seen his friend smile before.
"Hello, Sunny, Cassie. Glad to see you after a week," he expressed in a lively tone.
"Who are you? And what did you do to my friend?" Sunny asked suspiciously.
"What do you mean who I am? I'm Ash, of course."
"You're lying! Ash isn't that expressive!"
Ash rolled his eyes and then sighed.
A soft giggle was heard, making both of them look at the blind girl who was holding back her laughter.
"Oh, how I missed this," said Cassie.
"Cass, don't be fooled, it could be an abomination pretending to be Ash, you just have to see that smile he has."
"Sunny," said Cassie, looking at the boy. "I'm blind, I can't see him."
Sunny blinked, feeling stupid.
Ash shook his head.
"I thought better of you, Sunless. You're a bad person."
"Wait a moment," said Sunny. "Are you two messing with me?"
Sunny looked at Cassie, then looked at Ash. Both had a slight smile on their faces.
"You two..." Sunny didn't finish his curse, so he simply changed the subject abruptly. "Where's Neph?" Sunny asked. "I thought she'd be with you."
"She's probably at the house. And angry, maybe very angry."
Sunny raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, and what did you do to make her angry?"
"Well..." Ash murmured, starting to walk, making both of them follow. "It's a bit complicated. It was yesterday afternoon," he began to explain. "I was determined to explore more ruins."
"By yourself?" Cassie asked.
"At night?" Sunny asked.
"Yes, and yes," he answered both questions. "The point is that Nephis didn't like the idea very much, since I almost died and all that last time I let my guard down, and if it weren't for her Aspect, I'd be dead."
Sunny and Cassie's eyes widened before they could ask. Ash continued his explanation.
"That was two days ago. That night I set out to make myself stronger by killing awakened beasts, but Nephis accompanied me. After fighting for an entire night and resting, I decided to return, but let's say Nephis refused me."
"And what did you do?" Cassie asked.
"Oh, I simply escaped."
Sunny and Cassie stood frozen, staring at Ash with their mouths open.
"You escaped? Wait... how?" Sunny asked incredulously.
"I simply waited for her to fall asleep and left. So, in conclusion, I'll just leave you near where we're staying and then I'll go away... for a few hours at least. Try, if possible, to keep her from killing me."
Ash turned to look at Sunny and Cassie.
"In exchange, I'll give you this Ascended soul shard. It's a good deal, right?"
"Sorry, Ash, you're on your own," said Sunny.
"No," said Cassie.
And thus, Ashfall's hopes came to an end.
Ash sighed, put away the soul shard, and continued walking with a melancholic aura around him.
Another ten minutes of walking passed until they reached the edge of the slum, where a initially spacious dwelling stood, built and patched together with the best materials that could be rescued from the ruins.
Ash stopped.
"Nephis is in there," he pointed at the house. "So see you, maybe tomorrow or in two days."
Ash turned to leave when he heard a voice that belonged to neither Sunny nor Cassie. Upon hearing it, all color drained from his skin.
"Oh, Ash... it's good to see you," said Changing Star, leaning against a wall.
Ash slowly turned his head to look at Changing Star, who was wearing a coarse tunic, with a piece of rope tied around her waist.
Ash wondered why Nephis was wearing that and not her armor. As if reading his mind, Nephis spoke.
"A fight against an abomination that came out of nowhere," she replied, and then gave a disturbing smile that made Sunny scared. Cassie, even being blind, felt a chill down her spine. And Ash, he was sweating profusely.
"Do you have something to say?" Nephis asked.
"Not in the face, please, I need it."
Nephis smiled, her knuckles turning white.
"Don't worry, I'll heal it afterward."
Sunny looked at Cassie.
"Hey Cass, should we go ahead?" Sunny asked.
"How curious, I was about to say the same thing."
And so, the duo simply advanced without stopping or looking back when a loud thud was heard and something hitting the ground.
---
[Note: Here ends the first part of this story with the group of four reunited again. It was quite difficult to write the interaction between Ash and Nephis due to their personalities, but somehow I managed it and I think it turned out well.
Well, I estimate that this complete arc will take me at least another forty chapters to finish, so it will be around eighty or ninety chapters.
If you noticed, Ash is beginning to change, being quite different compared to the beginning.
Well, that's all from me. Just leave me comments about what you think of this story so far. I like reading them even if I don't reply.
Before I forget: the reason Ash can see the enchantments and the memory's level is because of the Blessing of Nothingness. It functions similarly to divine lineages.
Well, that's all for now.]