After a few minutes, Ash, Nephis, Sunny, and Cassie were inside the cabin made of stone and wood, patched with the hides of nightmare creatures.
"Wow, this place needs some renovations," Sunny said, looking around the spacious area.
Nephis didn't say anything and simply shrugged.
Ash let out a slight yawn. His face was perfectly normal except for one small detail: his right eye was slightly swollen and bruised.
"Do you want breakfast?" Nephis asked, approaching a flimsy wooden table near one of the walls, covered by a piece of cloth. Removing the cloth revealed a pile of juicy roasted meat.
"Where the hell did you get so much meat? We thought you'd starve out here in the outer settlement!"
"You have a very poor perception of us, Sunny," Ash said.
"This city is full of abominations. It's not difficult; just kill one and you have meat."
"What Ash said. There are regular monster attacks that reach the outer settlement. I and others kill them and divide the parts."
Upon hearing that, Cassie paused.
"But I thought Gunlaug's men were supposed to fight nightmare creatures!"
"They do if the castle is attacked, whether from the hillside or from the sky. If the monsters come from the path, they usually can't be bothered to do anything," Nephis explained.
"Yeah, that's true. So then why... would you choose to live in this pit of all places?!"
Nephis was silent for a few seconds before answering.
"It's quiet here." She then turned towards a window. "I like it."
Sunny looked at Ash, seeking a better answer.
Ash shrugged.
"Don't ask me," Ash said, eating a piece of roasted meat.
After a while, everyone was eating the abomination meat. Ash summoned the endless bottle, passing it around among them.
After filling their stomachs, Nephis looked at Sunny with a calm but intense expression.
"What have you learned about the castle?"
Ash listened superficially to Sunny's explanation about the ancient fortress, the six divisions of the castle and their relationships with each other, and other things that didn't interest him.
Then came the talk about the Sleepers. There were about a thousand or so Sleepers inside the accursed city.
As well as the revelation that Caster was in the Dark City.
He also heard about the incident two days ago with Jubei, who died at the hands of Gunlaug's servant. This left a slightly sour taste in his mouth.
Ever since his emotions had started returning, he'd been having a hard time staying calm. He still didn't know why he was recovering his emotions now, but he suspected it was related to the presence inside his Soul Sea.
Ash simply remained silent, listening to the informational talk between Sunny and Nephis, while concentrating on feeling the other presence in his Soul Sea. Even using his guide aspect, he couldn't find it. He could feel it but never see it.
It was like searching for a needle in a haystack, or well, amidst a mist.
"So, what's inside the Spire? I deduce it's nothing pleasant. Otherwise, there wouldn't be a thousand Sleepers who chose to live in a city full of ferocious monsters instead of going there."
"A fallen terror," Nephis said, making Sunny freeze.
"So going there is suicide."
"Not necessarily," Ash interjected, causing Nephis, Sunny, and Cassie to look at him.
"What do you mean, Ash?" Cassie asked.
"Well, as Nephis said, the door is guarded by a fallen terror, but it's not inside the Spire. We can ignore the fallen terror and use the door without needing to kill it."
"Yeah, but how will we even reach the Crimson Spire? When two full cohorts died?"
"That's because there is a way to achieve it," Ash said, looking at Nephis.
"Right. The fragments," said Changing Star.
"Fragments? Do you mean soul fragments?" Cassie asked, confused.
"No. There are seven Memories that bear the name 'fragments.' Sunny, you have one of those Memories: the Midnight Fragment."
Sunny put on a thoughtful look before quickly making some connections.
"The seals Cassie mentioned in her vision."
"Exactly," Ash interjected.
"The first night we arrived and you guys went to the castle, I used my ability to find something interesting." Ash paused to better organize his thoughts. "It was a library with engravings that told part of the history of this place. To summarize, there were seven heroes: the Knight, the Builder, the Assassin, the Priestess, the Lord, the Rogue, and another one I don't remember. Those seven heroes used seven weapons named 'fragments' to seal the Dark Sea. The conclusion we reached is that if we gather these seven Memories, we can open the Crimson Spire and, in theory, seal the Dark Sea."
Sunny's eyes widened.
"Do you think it will work?" Cassie asked.
"It's not about whether it will work or not. We don't have a choice in this."
Sunny sighed.
"Still, how are we going to get these Memories or even accomplish all of this? What's the plan?"
"We're going to create a hunting party," Nephis said.
"Entering the Dark City blindly is dangerous, even with Ash's aspect."
"Sunny's right," Cassie said.
"Yeah, we'll need to recruit a scout. Someone with experience in this city to speed up the process."
"Do you have someone in mind?" Sunny asked.
Nephis nodded, her eyes shining with intensity.
"Yes. We'll go see her later. But first, tell me every detail of what you've learned about the castle. Every name, every aspect, every ability and flaw you've been able to deduce. Every complaint from the people and every plan they hide. I need to know everything."
"Sure, no problem. But I'll warn you, this is going to be long. I've been very busy snooping around, you know?"
Changing Star made a gesture with her head.
"There's no rush."
Ash looked at Sunny, then at Nephis, and then vice versa. For an instant, his brow furrowed without anyone noticing. A slight annoyance or irritation grew inside him upon seeing them. Then, as quickly as it appeared, it simply faded away completely.