Days passed. A soft, salty breeze washed across Zachary's cheek. He was breathing harshly atop a fallen Centurion, Ender's Solace buried in the carapaced monster's chest. Drawing in a deep breath, he wiped away a streak of azure blood from his face with the back of his hand before climbing down from the corpse.
Looking at the towering body, Zachary couldn't help but shudder at the memory of the fight. For the past few days, the group had been carefully selecting their targets, striking with precision and eliminating the Nightmare Creatures that posed the greatest threat around them.
Their strategy was simple but necessary—remove any danger at their backs before pushing forward. If even one creature caught the faintest trace of his nightmarish Attribute, it could spell disaster.
Today's hunt had been planned: a Carapace Centurion and its host of Scavengers. Everything was going smoothly until a second Centurion emerged from out of nowhere, catching them by surprise.
But the monsters' bad luck was that these Sleepers were not the same as the ones who had once struggled against a single Centurion. Through countless battles and sparrings Nephis and Zachary had grown used to each other—and with each battle—they came out stronger, Nephis by absorbing Soul Shards and Zachary by regaining his Balance.
Their teamwork had also grown by leaps and bounds. With his enhanced senses and razor sharp spatial awareness—backed by Danger Sense—Zachary was able to map the battlefield in his mind, adjusting on the fly and moving wherever he was needed.
Nephis, however, was something else entirely. With unmatched martial prowess and a terrifying understanding of combat, she moved through battle with surgical precision. Now unburdened by the fear of being unarmored, she could unleash her full potential.
Together, they complemented each other seamlessly. Zachary filled the gaps she left behind, while Nephis shielded him in turn. The sum of their strengths was far greater than either of them alone.
They still used the same strategy of weaponizing his Attribute, and through trial and error he was finally able to detect with Danger Sense the radius where [Blasphemer] went unnoticed.
Turning around, Zachary saw Nephis retrieving the Soul Shards from the second Centurion, ready to move on to the remaining Scavengers. She was efficient to the core. Still, during these fights, Zachary had made it a habit to leave the final blow to her whenever possible. With her Innate Ability to absorb the essence of both Nightmare Creatures and humans, prioritizing her growth in strength was only natural.
After all, unlike Nephis—or Sunny—who grew stronger simply by killing, Zachary advanced as ordinary Awakened did, through Soul Shards.
But he hadn't taken any Shards yet—he was waiting for his Balance to increase. And finally, he had reached one hundred percent. But…
Zachary had thought that once he achieved full Balance, he would feel ecstatic, like someone who had finally reached a lifelong goal. For so long he had been unable to use his full strength, so naturally, he believed that once he could, he would feel complete. Instead… something was missing.
His Body and Mind had finally caught up to his Soul, yet a nagging emptiness remained. Even now, with a potency of six hundred soul fragments, there was still a faint dissonance within him. Not something monumental—more like an itch at the back of his mind he couldn't quite scratch. His Body, Mind, and Soul moved in unison, but he couldn't shake the sense that he hadn't truly reached one hundred percent Balance.
And yet, if he could unleash his potential fully, then he already had. So what was missing?
With a sigh, he left the thought for later. Being able to wield the full potency of six hundred fragments was a game changer on its own. Still, he wasn't about to get overconfident. With his Attribute constantly haunting them, they moved through the labyrinth with caution. After all, it was still crawling with creatures capable of devouring them whole. The only difference now was that they could choose their fights more freely.
Glancing at Ender's Solace, Zachary dismissed the blade ,he still couldn't pinpoint exactly what changes his sword companion had undergone. Its sharpness and lethality had increased dramatically—it could now cleave through a Centurion's carapace without resistance—but his intuition told him it wasn't just a matter of raw damage. Something deeper had shifted in the sword itself.
Shaking his head, he noticed Nephis approaching after finishing with the Soul Shards.
"Take care of the centipedes while I go fetch Cass," she said as she walked past him.
Zachary replied immediately, forcing her to stop. "What are the magic words, Neph?"
She turned her head with a blank expression. He only answered with a smile.
"Please take care of the centipedes, Zach," she said at last, emphasizing the word before walking away again.
"Aye aye, boss." Zachary grinned and turned toward the three unfortunate centipedes that had been caught in the chaos of the fight.
"I say 'unfortunate,' but this is really on you, to be fair. Who told you to come chasing after my Attribute, huh?" he muttered, mocking the corpses. He remembered how, in the novel, the carapaces and centipedes fought viciously over territory—but once he appeared, they forgot all hostilities and turned on him instead.
With surgical precision, Zachary harvested the oil sacks from their bodies. He already knew how valuable the substance would be later, so he didn't complain about the task.
At that moment he heard Cassie's joyful voice.
"Zach! How did it go? Neph says there was a second Centurion."
He turned and smiled at them. To say he was surprised was an understatement—after that late-night conversation, he had expected the blonde girl to grow distant. But contrary to his worries, she seemed closer than before.
"That's right, a second Centurion hit the labyrinth." Zachary coughed into his hand, grateful the girls didn't catch the joke in his wording. "But there's nothing to worry about. We took care of those bastards."
Cassie smiled as the Echo approached her side. "And how did this little guy manage, huh?" she asked in a tender voice.
"Little guy?" Zachary frowned at the Scavenger's Echo, giving it a strange look. 'Where exactly is this fellow "little"?'
"Anyway," he said, helping Nephis lift the petite girl onto the creature's back, "have you thought of a name for him yet?"
"Not yet. I want his name to be special. After all, my noble steed deserves a noble name." She laughed lightly.
"How about Princess… or Rainbow? I think it fits this 'little' guy, don't you?" Zachary asked with a sardonic grin.
"Noo, that won't work. He's a male, after all." Cassie shook her head as she adjusted her grip on the makeshift reins.
Zachary arched an eyebrow at that. "Really? I haven't checked. Maybe I could—"
"Don't you dare!" she shrieked from atop the Echo, followed by a burst of cheerful laughter. "Stop it, Zach."
"Alright, alright. Sorry." Zachary lifted his hands in mock surrender and let the topic drop, though not before catching the way Nephis's lips curled slightly upward. He pretended not to notice, and the three of them continued west toward the Bone Ridge.
***
Just as the sun was about to set, they finally reached the Bone Ridge. The behemoth's skeleton loomed above them, welcoming them with its towering indifference. After a careful climb, they made it to the top.
Taking turns, they washed themselves with Cassie's Memory, then sat around the fire to eat before night fell.
While they ate, Zachary found himself listening intently to Cassie as she described one of the world's popular dramas—a story about a pair of dreamers who fell in love at the Academy and faced adventures and perils together in the Dream Realm.
"So, after all that, they end up together, right?" Zachary asked as they doused the flames.
He was genuinely curious. Popular culture here was completely foreign to him, and just as times changed, so did entertainment.
Cassie gave him a flat look, as if the answer should have been obvious. "No, Zach. That's just the end of the first season."
A sense of foreboding crept over him. "How many seasons are we talking about here?"
"Last time I checked… before my First Nightmare, they were filming the twelfth season."
Her expression shifted—something between amusement and bitterness. Probably, she was remembering how everything changed after that point, how she could no longer enjoy such shows in the same way.
"Jesus. And people really watch the whole thing?" Zachary asked, bewildered. He couldn't fathom how anyone had that much free time to sit through a dozen seasons of the same drawn-out drama.
"Of course, why wouldn't they? It's one of the most popular ones." Cassie said with an innocent smile.
Zachary dragged a hand down his face, clearly overwhelmed by the idea of investing that much time in such shows. With a shake of his head, he turned to Nephis.
"I can't imagine it. At least you're not one of them, right, Neph?"
Nephis's shoulders tensed, and she turned her head just enough that he couldn't see her face. Zachary froze, unable to believe what he was seeing.
"Right, Neph?" he pressed, praying his suspicion was wrong.
But to his dismay, Nephis remained silent. A faint flush colored the tips of her ears—her only answer.
"I'll be damned," Zachary muttered, incredulous.
The night passed without incident, and by the time they finished breakfast, they were ready to check their surroundings before continuing their journey. With agile movements, both Nephis and Zachary climbed a jagged bone protrusion and looked west.
He had known what awaited them, but knowing and seeing were two very different things. The sight of the dead corals giving way to the ashen sea stole his breath. At the end of it, looming in silent majesty, stood the Soul Devouring Tree, crowning the Ashen Barrow.
Zachary sighed with complicated feelings. The Ashen Barrow was the only land high enough to shield them from the Dark Sea… but the Terror inhabiting it…
With a shake of his head, he and Nephis returned to Cassie, ready to continue.
The white dead coral stretched in eerie silence. Zachary knew there were no creatures lurking within, but even so, the absence of sound sent a chill down his spine.
They had just emerged from the labyrinth, and now the endless plane of ashes awaited them. Here and there, collapsed pillars of death coral jutted up from the desolation, but they were so far apart that none offered real cover.
"Do you feel anything?" Nephis's low voice caught his attention.
After so many days in the labyrinth, Zachary's Danger Sense had been honed to a razor's edge. He still struggled slightly predicting narrow attacks, but in a wider scope, it could catch even the faintest trace of danger.
And right now, it was silent.
"Nothing. There are no enemies ahead of us… but I can't shake a nagging feeling of wrongness." He glanced at the girls, his expression serious.
Nephis chewed her lip, then finally spoke with quiet resolve. "We'll continue moving with caution. Let's use those broken pillars as cover. They're better than nothing."
Zachary nodded—he had been thinking the same thing. They continued walking with a clearer direction. From time to time they came across shallow pits, and just as he was considering how they might serve as hiding spots, he heard something.
The faintest sound of sand being disturbed. Almost as if a sudden breeze had lifted it.
It caught Zachary's attention because in this desolate expanse no other sounds existed. But more than the sound, it was the vague sensation at the back of his head that made him turn toward the source.
A Carapace Centurion was emerging from the labyrinth.
Already moving before the thought fully formed, he unsummoned the Echo and caught the falling Cassie, who let out a startled yelp. Just as Nephis was about to demand an explanation, Zachary shoved the blind girl into her arms and spoke in a hurried whisper.
"Hide!" He pointed toward a nearby pit and sprinted toward a broken pillar.
He needed to put distance between himself and the girls in case the Centurion caught even the faintest trace of his Attribute. Back in the labyrinth, they had managed to kill two Centurions only because the conditions favored them—the first fight had been planned, and even when the second ambushed them, the terrain had worked in their favor. But here, in the open? Not a chance.
The Centurion lumbered toward the Ashen Barrow. In moments, Zachary would be in its line of sight, but he reached the broken pillar just in time. With fluid agility, he scaled the crumbling coral and pressed himself flat against the top, crawling to the edge to scout the creature's path.
From this vantage point, he had enough distance that his [Blasphemer] Attribute wouldn't betray him.
'Man, my delicate heart can't handle these sudden emotions,' Zachary lampooned as the Centurion passed below, heading toward the Ashen Barrow. In its grasp gleamed a Soul Shard.
A Transcendent Soul Shard.
'If we'd prepared for this guy, Nephis and Cassie would've gotten a nice treat.' He laughed without mirth, continuing to track the distant monster—until something else caught his eye.
Cinder Eyes hadn't only sharpened his perception; they had extended his vision. He could see not just the Centurion, but the Ashen Barrow itself. And there, waiting to receive the monster, stood a towering figure. With eight legs, four arms, its body stood mighty with lustrous metal.
The Carapace Demon.
Even though he had known what awaited them, seeing it with his own eyes hollowed him out. His chest clenched as a truth echoed within him:
"I cannot fight it."
He lay still for several seconds, silent, but eventually a wry laugh escaped him. Whether he liked it or not, it had to be done. Clicking his tongue, he climbed down from the pillar and returned to the girls.
When he told them the immediate danger had passed, they pressed him with questions, but Zachary's energy was gone. Shaking his head weakly, he muttered:
"Let's first return to camp. You'll want to be seated for what I'm about to say." The girls immediately caught the gravity in his voice and agreed without protest. Together, they turned back toward the Bone Ridge.
Just as night began to settle, they gathered around the campfire. Nephis and Cassie finally turned to Zachary with stern expressions. He exhaled slowly, trying to think of how to break the news to them. At last, he spoke.
"Ok, I've got bad news and good news. Which do you want first?" Zachary asked with a spark of forced humor.
The girls exchanged glances. Cassie opened her mouth to reply, but Nephis cut in immediately.
"Are you trying to do the same thing you did back at the cliff?" she asked, a faint frown tugging at her otherwise impassive face.
Zachary laughed inwardly. It seemed his earlier backhanded comment had left an impression.
"…Maybe?" was all he said. Nephis rolled her eyes.
With a low chuckle, Zachary finally laid it out. "Ok, there's something waiting for us at the Ashen Barrow…"
He explained the situation, weaving in his own discoveries with the those Sunny made in the novel—just enough for them to grasp the true danger. With each word, the girls' faces changed. Cassie's lower lip trembled as a worried frown marred her pristine face. Nephis bit her lip lightly, her eyes dark with thought.
"An Awakened Demon." The words finally left Nephis's mouth.
"Most probably," Zachary admitted. Just the distant encounter had drained him more than any fight in the labyrinth.
"We have to deal with it," Nephis said a moment later as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
And what a world they lived in, because it was the truth. The Ashen Barrow was the only safe land that could shield them from the Dark Sea. Cassie's face paled with shock.
"It's the only way west," Zachary said gently. Cassie winced at the truth.
"Let's… not get ahead of ourselves," Zachary muttered, his tone heavy. "Give me tonight to think. I'll work out something, considering our…" He winced and corrected himself. "My situation."
That's when the girls finally understood his predicament, Zachary had been dealing all this time with his [Blashpemer] Attribute rather well that they had forgotten its presence. But now that the foe they were against was on a whole different league, it had become their greatest obstacle.
"Alright," they said together.
Night settled fully. Zachary volunteered for first watch, welcoming the solitude. Sitting cross-legged with a calm expression, he closed his eyes—but his mind churned restlessly.
'I've known from the beginning that my abilities differ from Sunny's. That sooner or later, I'd face a situation where I couldn't replicate his strategies.' He winced at the thought.
'But this… this is much earlier than I expected.'
He couldn't replicate the Trojan Horse plan from the novel. He lacked the core element—the shadow helper. The ability to monitor the Echo from afar had been the keystone. Without it, the entire infiltration crumbled. Worse still, his cursed [Blasphemer] Attribute. Monsters were more sensitive to it than beasts; how much sharper would a Demon's perception be?
"What to do, what to do?" he muttered wearily. The situation had slipped from his control. What options did he even have—
"That's it!" Zachary suddenly stood, crimson eyes gleaming. "I don't need to have everything under control. Just the first part."
He paced slowly, stroking his chin. 'I can't follow Sunny's plan, not the first part at least. I have to aim for something achievable—reaching the tree. Once I do that, I can let the canon take over. Let the Thing in the Mist handle the Demon.'
A plan began to form in his mind.
By morning, Cassie was the first to speak, her face bright with excitement. She shared her vision of the Demon's injuries after lightning struck the Ashen Barrow. The three of them listened intently. When she finished, Zachary shared that he had thought of something.
"But before that, we need to make preparations." He paused, then suddenly chuckled at a thought.
'A magician never performs unprepared, after all.' Zachary couldn't help but lampoon.
***
The next day, they returned to the site of the battle. Zachary walked toward the Centurion's remains and, under the curious eyes of the girls, began crafting something. A bow.
Teacher Julius had once taught him how to craft basic weaponry, excusing it by saying that relying only on Memories could spell doom for Awakened. Using tendons and bones, Zachary fashioned the body, balancing hardness with the flexibility needed for a bow. For the string, he braided strands of the Centurion's guts.
When he finished, he marveled at his creation. It was crude, like something a barbarian might use in a role-playing game. With a chuckle, he turned to Nephis, who looked back with a raised brow.
"Say… are you any good with a bow?" Zachary asked, offering it to her.
She studied the improvised weapon for a moment before nodding and taking it. As a Legacy, she hadn't been trained solely in the way of the sword—she had learned a variety of weapons.
"Perfect. Next, we need to begin a little pest control." Zachary wiped his hands on his pants. If his plan was going to work, he needed the flammable substance the centipedes produced. And they needed a lot more of it.
"There's never enuff dakka," Zachary muttered, earning awkward glances from the girls.
Two days later, Nephis and Zachary stood on the broken coral east of the Ashen Barrow. For days, they had systematically hunted the centipede tribe that roamed the Crimson Labyrinth. At one point, Zachary even wondered if they were causing some sort of ecological imbalance by wiping out an entire niche—then laughed at the thought.
"Whenever you're ready," Zachary said. Lying flat on his stomach, he closed one eye and made a circle with his hand over the other, creating tunnel vision to push his farsight even farther.
Above him, Nephis drew the bow. Zachary glanced at her. The tension was immense—so much that even with six hundred soul fragments, he could barely draw it. So how was she managing?
Looking closely, he noticed faint white sparks dancing in her eyes. She was reinforcing herself with her flames. Nephis bit her lip, swallowing the scream that threatened to escape as the strain of her Flaw mounted, then released the arrow.
Zachary's gaze followed it. The arrow arced wide before landing in the fallen leaves near the Ashen Barrow.
"Impact missed—low and left. Adjust two degrees right, half a degree up. Wind negligible. Reacquire target." His exaggerated voice carried a mocking tone.
He suddenly felt a sharp gaze from above. Without moving much, he tilted his head just enough to see Nephis towering over him.
'Man, this angle—'
Her voice, edged with annoyance, cut off his thought. "It's a tree, not some... terrorist."
'Oh, if only you knew.' Zachary laughed inwardly. That tree was perhaps the most dangerous creature in the Crimson Labyrinth.
"And yet, it still evaded you," he said lightly. "Come on, elevate your arc. Compensate for arrow drop. We're dealing with primitive ballistics here."
Nephis gave him a long look before shaking her head in defeat. She nocked another arrow and drew the bow again.
"Target distance—eight hundred meters. Recommend correction—elevate angle six degrees, adjust bearing... Three clicks right."
Just as she was about to shoot, Nephis lowered the bow and turned toward him again.
"Clicks? I don't have a scope," she said, voice tinged with irritation.
Zachary finally broke into laughter. "I know, I know. Sorry. You get what I mean."
Nephis rolled her eyes, but the corners of her lips curled upward—just enough to escape his notice.
"Shooter ready... Send it."
She released the arrow. It cut through the air, flying in a perfect arc before striking the tree.
The Carapace Demon immediately stirred, leaving its resting place and moving toward the point of impact. It had felt the attack, even if no damage had been done.
Zachary grinned. "We've achieved our purpose. Let's return to Cassie."
That night at camp, Zachary shared his discoveries about how the Demon was protecting the tree with the others. He didn't reveal much of what is shown in the novel, but he gave them enough to understand the weight of the plan. Cassie and Nephis listened with sharp, focused eyes.
"Now listen," Zachary said. "This is the plan…"