Ash emerged from his sea of souls after confirming that everything was fine, that nothing strange was happening, and that no new presence had appeared.
Walking toward the pile of rusted armor that had once belonged to the abandoned knight, he crouched down and, after searching for a few moments, found four ascended soul fragments, which he consumed, granting him 20 soul fragments.
The sudden influx of essence into his soul cores disoriented him for a moment.
Standing up, Ash walked through the hallways, observing the statue of the nameless goddess, whose head was missing from the rest of her body.
Ash continued on his way, using the same passages that the priests and priestesses of the cathedral had once used.
Ash wished to find the Weaver's Mask, and immediately the familiar sensation guided him toward where what he desired was located.
Ash stopped in front of a wall. After searching for any irregularity, he found it: a hidden lever. Ash summoned his Pale Needle and inserted it into the joint between the moving parts, then pulled, using the Pale Needle as a lever.
After several attempts where he used all his strength, he managed to open the concrete door.
Looking at the stairs descending, he took the first step, then the second, venturing into the darkness.
Ash descended and continued descending for a few minutes until he reached the bottom of the stairs. Looking around, he noticed a large rock chamber. He noted the enormous black steel wall and then the torches of pale blue light that illuminated the doors with an imposing aura.
Ash approached the door, finding the keyhole.
Checking his pockets, he took out the key he had taken from the Lord of Bones while he was asleep.
Inserting the key, Ash turned it. A loud click was heard; a second later, the door opened easily.
Behind the door was a small room excavated from rock.
In the center lay a corpse with a mane chained to the ground within a circle that had been destroyed long ago.
Ash ignored the corpse and focused on the demonic mask that rested on the corpse's face, hiding its features.
Within the mask's eyes were only two pits of deep darkness.
With calm steps, he stepped into the circle, and his fingers grasped the mask, which dissolved into a sea of white sparks.
[You have obtained a Remembrance.]
The previously kneeling corpse simply crumbled into dust.
Ash summoned the Remembrance into his hand and looked at the lacquered wooden mask with three horns.
Upon seeing its runes, he smiled weakly.
Remembrance: [Weaver's Mask]
Remembrance Rank: Divine.
Remembrance Level: VII
Remembrance Type: Tool.
Ash nodded, then skipped the description and went straight to its enchantments.
Remembrance Enchantments: [Mantle of Lies] [???] [Simple Trick] [Where is my Eye?]
Ash placed the mask on his face, and immediately the Black Knight's echo was summoned. The familiar figure materialized, standing still, awaiting his orders.
Its flaw, mercy, prevented it from killing things weaker than itself, and if reversed, it could only kill things weaker than itself.
Summoning his Sword of Seven, Ash gathered all his killing intent and launched an attack to shatter his echo, yet his body froze mere millimeters from impact.
Ash withdrew.
'So that's how it works,' he thought as he dismissed the memory, returning it to his sea of souls.
Turning around, Ash left that chamber. His objective was complete; now the only thing left to do would be to deal with the Soul-Devouring Tree, and for that, he would use one of the torches that adorned the entrance to the great hall.
Ash left that place, taking the path back. He arrived where the statue was and subsequently left the cathedral, heading toward the outer settlement. He took his time, avoiding fights. He was truly tired of this place, and thinking about what was about to happen would only give him more headaches.
At least he had achieved his objective. He had obtained the Weaver's Mask, which would prove useful in the future, discovered new secrets about his Aspect, acquired two powerful echoes, and a very useful Remembrance.
Ash advanced silently through the ruined streets of the dark city until he reached a well-hidden spot where he sat down and slept for a few hours.
...
When the nameless sun emerged from somewhere along the Forgotten Coast and the dark sea had receded, Ash was walking across the white stone arch at a leisurely pace, approaching a certain place.
His ability guided him toward where Nephis was.
After walking for a while, he finally arrived at a stone plateau with a large house made of rock and wood that was in good condition. Making his way to his usual spot, he noticed a familiar figure meditating with her eyes closed while small flames emerged from her skin.
This was Changing Star, who somehow detected his presence and opened her eyes.
Ash, without saying a word, sat down in his usual place, and finally, they began to speak.
"...You did it, Ash," Nephis said.
"Yeah, I got everything I needed..." Ash paused. "It was a tough journey, but in the end, it was worth it. I got the two fragments that were in the Hollow Mountains."
Nephis looked at Ash for a few moments.
"How many were there?"
"Two. The Dawn Fragment and the Dusk Fragment," he said as the two memories materialized in his hands—the crown in his left hand and the shield in his right.
"Did you get the remaining one?"
"Yeah, I have the Moonlight Fragment," Nephis said, summoning a long sword that appeared in her hand in less than a second.
"So then, that makes four. Three are missing," Ash murmured, bringing a hand to his chin. He knew Seishan had one, Effie had another, and the last was obtained by killing the Lord of Bones.
"So how's your plan going, Neph?" Ash asked, changing the subject.
"Pretty well, though there are slight complications," the girl said.
"Like what?"
"Gunlaug, as well as his lackeys. Though not all of them agree with him."
"You're getting help, right?"
Changing Star remained silent, neither confirming nor denying anything.
"And where are Cassie and Sunny?" he asked.
Nephis frowned.
"Cassie is fine, though she's a bit angry about you leaving so suddenly," Nephis replied.
"As for Sunny... he left."
"Huh? Did he die?"
"No, he's probably alive. He just decided to go his own way."
Ash simply blinked, then looked toward the ruins, sensing Sunny's presence inside the city to the west.
"Did something happen between you two before I left on my trip?"
"Something like that. We had a talk that ended in a disagreement, and then he left." Ash looked at Nephis, who seemed a little downcast.
"I see. Well, why don't you tell me what happened, and then I'll see about bringing Sunny back?"
"It's not your problem, you know."
"Yeah, I know, but if I wait for either you to go talk to him or him to come talk to you—which I doubt will happen, given how he is—we'll be stuck in this place for months. So I'm the one who's neutral and the one who can possibly listen," Ash explained.
Just as Nephis was about to say something, the door opened, and a tall, bronze-skinned figure emerged, full of vigor and lacking clothing.
Ash took a second to react, then turned his head to look the other way.
Nephis turned her head and spoke. Her voice was filled with resignation and a hint of annoyance.
"Effie, for the thousandth time, when you come out, put on some clothes."
"Oh, come on, Princess, we've had this conversation many tim—" Effie fell silent when she spotted a certain head of gray hair that had been missing for almost three months.
"Oh, shy boy. Did you finally decide to bring your ass back here?"
"Lady Effie," Ash greeted, turning his head to see that the vivacious woman was already dressed in her usual clothes, save for her bronze armor.
"Where were you?" Effie asked.
"Traveling through the Crimson Labyrinth, getting something important."
"And what would that be?"
"This." Ash summoned a shield and set it on the ground.
"A shield?"
"It's an ascended memory from a fallen monster." Ash paused, then continued. "It's very heavy and durable."
"You disappeared for two whole months just for a shield?"
"That shield is more important than you think, Effie," Nephis said.
"How so?"
"You'll see in due time."
The door opened again, this time revealing two figures. The first was a young man with brown hair and green eyes, wearing green armor with an affable expression on his face.
Beside him was a small girl with blond hair and dull blue eyes—a sign of her blindness. She wore a white tunic with a blue cloak.
Of course, these two were Cassie and Caster.
"Lady Nephis, Lady Athena... Good morning," Caster greeted courteously. "Ashfall, I see you have returned safely from your journey."
"Yeah, I'm back," Ash replied, looking at Caster for a second before turning his gaze to Cassie.
"Ash... i-is it really you?"
"Yeah."
Ash stood up and walked toward Cassie, placing a hand on her head.
Without a second thought, Cassie hugged Ash. Her head reached just below his jaw.
"Neph said you'd gone on a trip, but she didn't give me any details," the girl said.
"Yeah, it was a dangerous place," Ash said.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
"No. I'm fine."
"That's good. And where did you go?"
"To a death zone."
Cassie, Effie, Caster, and Nephis all paled slightly upon hearing that.
"A-a death zone," Cassie stammered.
"Yeah."
"You're insane, kid," Effie said, impressed.
"Where was this death zone?" she asked.
Ash sighed.
"The Hollow Mountains. More specifically... let's just say I had to venture into the underworld."
"Hey, wait, what do you mean, 'the underworld'?" Effie asked. "Explain everything from the beginning."
"Fine, but let's do it after breakfast. I'm pretty hungry right now."