33: Showing New Ability

She was exhausted, so exhausted... Her eyelids were closing every few minutes, and her head tilted slightly forward with each passing moment, dangerously close to falling into unconsciousness.

But no. She wouldn't allow herself to sleep or leave them both unprotected. Before, she could afford to sleep during the day, trusting in her sharp senses that always alerted her to any imminent danger. But now, she was with Grey, and she couldn't risk leaving him vulnerable in the middle of this death zone.

The sun bathed them with its soft warmth, while the wind wrapped around them, refreshing the air. There was a delicate balance: neither heat nor cold. Just a deceptive calm.

In the middle of the forgotten coast, they both seemed out of place in this labyrinth filled with monsters, so small and unprotected compared to the horrors lurking everywhere.

They were at the bottom of the food chain, and yet, despite everything against them, they had both prevailed, survived. And, in an unexpected twist of fate, they had found each other.

She was happy, in fact, if she had been given a choice of who to be with in this dreadful place, she wouldn't have picked anyone other than Grey.

To distract herself from the fatigue, she let her mind wander as she watched Grey sleep.

'How did he get that armor? He must have fought some super strong creature and earned it as a reward.'

'Maybe a giant monster with many hands and a huge mouth, and he killed it with his bare fists, staring at its many eyes with courage and determination.'

The corners of her lips lifted, and a melodious giggle escaped her lips in the silent labyrinth.

'Or maybe he killed a dying creature, taking advantage of its weakness... or perhaps he stole the prey from another creature.'

She lifted a hand and brushed the black hair from Grey's face, letting the sunlight fall on his closed eyelids.

'Hey, Grey, you need to wake up. I'm tired, and you're sleeping like a fool. Didn't they teach you any manners about how to treat a lady?'

At that exact moment, something changed. It was subtle, but Sara's sharp eyes didn't miss the slight movement under Grey's eyelids.

'He didn't hear that, did he? No, that's silly…'

She froze when she saw Grey's eyes open, his silver reflections staring back at her.

Grey jolted awake and quickly moved away, turning over, dangerously close to the edge of the coral.

His face was contorted, a grimace of pain and… sadness? marked his soft features.

Sara stood up slowly, raising her hands in a carefree gesture.

"Grey, good morning. It was about time you woke up. I was getting tired of supporting your back and head."

He looked frantically at Sara, at the surroundings, at the sky, his eyes darting in all directions as his face changed expressions every second.

She gave him space to calm down, watching him in silence.

A minute of that frantic silence passed before Grey relaxed a little. Then he looked her directly in the eyes, with a disconcerting intensity.

"You… you're really here? Wait, wait… what's going on? Sara?! Oh gods! I really died up there!"

She approached with a calm smile, extending her arms. Grey looked at her, still confused.

Sara chuckled softly before telling him, "Are you saying I died too? You cheeky thing, nothing can kill me here."

She wrapped her arms around him, and he tensed at first, but a few seconds later, he returned the hug.

She whispered in his ear, "I'm glad you're okay, Grey. You really don't know how happy it makes me to have found you."

Grey remained silent for a few seconds, then squeezed Sara tighter in his arms, whispering back, "I'm also very happy you found me."

...

In the middle of a death zone, surrounded by countless webs and terrifying monsters, stood a crimson coral that sheltered two small figures.

Sitting in the center of the coral, they spoke cheerfully as the sun rose higher and higher in the sky.

"And then I killed a fallen beast that was dying. That's how I got this armor. It seems to help me swim much better."

Sara suddenly smiled, and a soft, melodious laugh echoed atop the coral.

Something subtly changed in Grey as he watched Sara laugh so carefreely.

Then he asked, "What are you laughing at?"

She simply lowered her laugh and looked at him for a few seconds with a smile on her face.

"Nothing, nothing, keep going. I'm enjoying the story."

He watched her with some suspicion, but eventually gave up and let out a sigh before continuing.

"… And that's how I killed two awakened beasts with a single slash of my incredible ascended spear."

Sara looked at him with enthusiasm, while a cheeky smile appeared on her face.

"Oh? So your spear is ascended rank. That's impressive, Grey. Very few sleepers have such powerful weapons."

He looked at her amused, but before he could respond, Sara spoke again.

"So, can I see your spear?"

Grey smiled and, to Sara's surprise, stood up immediately.

He placed himself in front of her and replied, "Sure, take a good look!"

He raised his hand in the air, and a swirl of white sparks appeared from nowhere, weaving a beautiful black-and-white spear with a serpent engraved spiraling around the shaft.

With a touch of excitement in her eyes, she took the spear, letting out a soft laugh as she held it with one hand.

"Wow, it really is impressive. It truly is an ascended weapon. Now I understand how you sliced those steel spiders in half."

Grey smiled as he reclaimed his spear, adopting an attack stance. He smiled at Sara and said, "Now watch this, I learned it just yesterday."

Suddenly, Grey's body began to emit a subtle glow, and the spear in his hands radiated a pure white light that left Sara impressed. But that wasn't all. He started to move the spear with such speed that even Sara had trouble following its trajectory.

After a minute of swinging, Grey stopped and adopted a serious expression. He concentrated deeply, and then something changed.

Though most of the change was hidden beneath his armor, Sara noticed how Grey's eyes darkened, and his teeth transformed into sharp fangs.

She didn't miss the change that ran along the shaft of the spear either. A deep, dense darkness emerged from Grey's hands, covering the surface of the weapon and extinguishing the silver glow of the blade.

Grey opened his eyes and smiled. His sharp fangs gave him a more sinister appearance than joyful.

'Oh, that looks good,' thought Sara, fascinated by what her friend was showing her.

Grey whispered as he looked at his spear with a sinister smile, "So, it works with this too."

Then he began to launch powerful strikes, making the very air tremble around the spear.