Impressive Haul

{PLEIADES POV)

Watching Regis twirl around like a dog that had found a bone, he continued to show off his slightly longer horns. His frame was also broader now, and even a little more imposing.

What intrigued me even more was his new presence — as if he had become more elusive and difficult to sense, which, for a shadow creature, was a boon.

Then, shifting my gaze from him, I looked toward the Cohort and assessed the situation. Everyone was still alive, though some were injured.

Effie was faring much better than before, and I was impressed to see Caster still conscious.

Kai had a noticeably bloody spot on his shoulder, and his complexion was paler, though not to the same degree as Nephis.

Frowning, I headed over to Effie, who gave me a passing glance.

Igniting the restoring Soul Flames, I placed a hand on her side. She was immediately engulfed in the fire, and all her wounds were healed. Her expression softened at once.

Examining her now-healed injuries, she stood up straight and patted my shoulder, which made my body tremble from the sheer force of the supposedly friendly gesture.

"Thanks, doofus" she muttered. Then, turning to Cassie, she strode over and asked, "You alright? Good job with that kill."

Cassie's mouth slackened for a moment before she smiled softly. "I wouldn't be alive if you hadn't warned me."

Before she could say more, Effie, noticeably gentler this time, patted her shoulder with a smirk.

"Ah, no need to give thanks, Cas. I'm just glad we didn't lose our Seer."

Cassie's small smile faltered, but Effie just laughed it off. "Oh, I'm kidding."

Her laughter echoed briefly, half-hearted and frayed around the edges. But her arm stayed on Cassie's shoulder a second longer than necessary, almost like it was grounding her.

Cassie chuckled weakly in return. "You joke too much when you're worried."

"Me? Worried? Never." Effie replied dramatically, gesturing to the gouge in her armor. "I'm made of steel, remember?"

"You're made of denial" Cassie muttered under her breath, just quiet enough that only I caught it.

Amused by the exchange, I looked around. All the Nightmare Creatures lay dead on the ground, their bodies maimed and soaked in blood.

I made my way to Kai next, and as I approached, the charming archer looked up at me.

"You holding together?" I asked, nodding toward his injured shoulder.

Kai glanced at me, slightly breathless, and gave a tired smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "About as well as a broken mirror glued back together with spit and pride."

"Is that a saying around here?"

I crouched beside him and, without another word, pressed my hand to the wound. Soul Flames sparked again, weaving through the damage and healing it completely.

"Thanks," Kai said quietly. "Also... is your stomach alright? You know, with you gutting yourself and all."

"I prefer to think of it as extreme problem-solving," I replied simply.

Kai let out a short laugh. "You're insane."

"And you're bleeding and being healed by me, who, mind you, is in perfect condition. So wouldn't that mean I'm faring better than you?"

Behind us, Regis, now fully basking in his Awakened glory, pranced by with theatrical confidence. His horns caught the ambient glow of fallen embers, casting long, devilish shadows.

"Is it just me, or does he look much different?" Kai asked, and I sighed as the shadowy wolf simpered, clearly pleased with himself.

"Oh yes. Believe it or not, well, I guess you kind of have to, but I've Awakened. I think I'm a match for your looks now, little prince."

Kai opened his mouth to respond, but he was interrupted by the ground shaking violently. Cracks spidered across the cave floor, the ceiling trembled, and stalagmite-like rocks crashed to the ground with thunderous thuds.

In the background, Effie shouted a curse while everyone else tensed.

Worried for a moment, I quickly suppressed the feeling and stood up calmly with Kai doing the same. An idea struck me, and I smiled slightly.

"Everyone! Come to me!"

Kai was already beside me, and the others rushed over.

"What kind of maiming are you gonna do to get us out of this, doofus?" Effie asked. And i almost considered leaving her behind.

Letting go of the thought, I shifted through the POVs of all the Ravens scattered through the Dark City. One was near the settlement Nephis had made. It flew a short distance and quickly plucked five feathers.

"Any of you have problems with nausea?"

Everyone shook their heads. I nodded.

"Alright. I'll meet you after I finish some things. Cee yuh."

Before anyone could respond, I used Antithesis and switched the positions of the feathers and the Cohort. In an instant, they crossed many kilometers and appeared in the Raven's vision.

I stayed behind, and Regis stood next to me.

"Oh, so you want us to get crushed along with you? Alright. Y'know, you're quite suicidal today."

Giving the wolf a flat look, I focused on the shaking cave. Then, with a steady breath, I activated Grafting.

The ability surged through me. I quickly anchored my mind so I wouldn't lose myself. Back when I first used Grafting to make simple things like a ship, I never truly used it to its full potential.

I had only used its conceptual-altering abilities to make things like a blanket that was never cold, by grafting the concept of a campfire's heat to it, making it perpetually warm.

There were a few other cases, but they were similarly small.

Now, however... I was about to use it on a much grander scale.

Feeling every concept around me, I focused on the most pressing issue, allowing my phantom-like hands to grasp the concept of stability that was tied to the cave.

Like the cave itself, the concept was crumbling. So I seized it, directing all my intent into it.

Then, focusing on a nearby stone at my feet, I severed it from the cave, but before the cave could fully collapse, I grasped the string that connected its stability to it.

Guiding the concept, I placed it upon the stone. It trembled in my hand, but I held it in place and stabilized it before it could crack.

With calm movements, I connected the string to the concept of stability — and, with no further resistance, let go of the stone.

It didn't break. I released my grip on the concepts and waited for a moment and seeing nothing go wrong, i breathed a sigh of relief.

Done with Grafting, I stopped using it and swayed on my feet. Grabbing my knees, sweat dripped down my forehead as I released slow, steady breaths.

The concept was now anchored to the solitary stone, and with the stone and cave now linked, the structure held. The cave no longer threatened to collapse and everything was now fixed.

Regis walked around the cavern and whistled. "Impressive. You can do all this but still can't give me a human body? I'd say you're pretty stingy with al—"

I cut him off with a raised hand and wiped the sweat off my brow.

"Stop talking. I already have enough of a headache."

"Alright, alright, but I will bring it up again."

Sitting on the ground, I gathered my thoughts and felt the confusion from witnessing the concepts around me begin to subside.

(Why fix the cave and not run away?)

Hearing Sunny's voice in my head, I briefly considered my words before responding.

[Sunny, what's the first thing you think about when you look at this cave?]

He pondered for a moment before replying.

(Chilly.)

[Okay, and the second?]

(Creepy.)

[Alright, I feel like this will go on for a while, so I'll speed things up. There are hundreds of dead Nightmare Creatures here. Now, what exactly do Nightmare Creatures have that is very valuable?]

(Well, I gu—ohh, I get it. So you stayed so you could take all the soul shards. Smart. But is it really worth all the effort?)

Shaking my head, I stood up with a slight tremor.

[Oh, Sunny, Sunny... Do you not understand just how much monster chow and useful memories we can make?]

Then Regis barged in on our conversation.

>>And imagine how much I would gain from this absolute feast.<<

[Yeah... sure, that too.]

Regis gave me a betrayed look and attempted to make puppy eyes, but all the supposed charm was suppressed by his devilish horns and fearsome appearance.

Heaving a sigh, I made my way to the corpse of the fallen demon that the Forsaken Knight had slain and cut into it. Inside lay three pristine soul shards.

Grabbing one, I sniffed it and took pleasure in its brilliance.

"Ahh, we'll have a mountain of these guys."

Placing the shard next to me, I took the rest out and stood over the demon's corpse. Smiling, I looked over the other bodies and noticed a small pile of soul shards off to the side, the ones Krabs had been dutifully collecting a little while ago.

"Alright, Sunny, summon Krabs."

(I can't. He's having his wounds healed in my soul sea.)

"Okay... How about Saint? She has fast hands."

(She's also being nourished by my soul sea.)

"Mmh, and the Forsaken Knight is also being healed..."

Out of the usual options for voluntary free labor, I peered toward Regis and smiled mischievously.

Regis noticed my gaze and shuddered, as if knowing what I was about to do.

"Hey, buddy—"

"Nope." he growled, his hackles rising and his mane flaring defensively.

I took a step forward, my expression unchanging.

"You're the only one not recovering."

"I just Awakened! I'm still adjusting!" Regis hissed, backing up.

"And that means you're at full power."

"I fought! I bled!"

"You pranced, and you don't bleed."

"That was victory dancing!"

"Exactly. So now you have energy to spare."

Regis groaned dramatically and flopped onto the ground like a shadowy martyr.

"This is abuse. This is what oppression looks like."

I tossed a storage pouch I envisioned at his paws.

"Start collecting. The faster you do it, the faster we get out of here."

He muttered under his breath but eventually trudged over to the nearest body, grumbling all the while.

A moment later:

"...You owe me a chew toy. A good one. With resistance."

"I'll carve your name into it."

"With blood."

"...I'll consider it."

Then, as he got to work, I summoned my Runes and looked through my memories. I skipped over all the ones I had plundered from the traitors until the memory I received from the Terror finally appeared.

They Read:

Memory: Crown of Shadows

Memory Rank: Ascended

Memory Tier: VI

Memory Type: Tool

Memory Description:[ Death was the shadow of life, and the shadows following death coexisted with those following life and the passions and pleasures it provided.

Within the bounds of a long-lost kingdom, a queen reigned over a people that worshiped the Shadow God and his divine messengers. Her presence lingered over the kingdom like a shadow as she watched over it day after day. And while her people wished for the purification of death, they chose to live and suffer the death they were destined to meet.

As her people dwindled in large numbers, she was eventually devoured by grief. Her life, however, was not hers to take or control. In a desperate attempt to rid herself of the burden that was life, she tried and failed to enter the embrace of death.

In her growing madness, she took citizens from other kingdoms and forced them under her rule. However, her hunger for others to care for became her ruin, and she was slain by the blade of a hero.

Her shadow, however, remained.

No longer part of its previous owner, it wandered the world in search of another master. Yet fate was cruel and did not allow it peace. So it wandered, and grew, grew until all it sought was the ruin of others.

It took the lives of many warriors and heroes alike. However, its treacherous life was ended by an even more treacherous being. Its corpse was desecrated by the pet of that treacherous being, and its many years ended in but a moment…]

"..."

Looking at the description, I blinked a couple times and frowned.

"How am i more treacherous?"

Ignoring the spell clearly poking fun at me, I summoned the memory.

It weaved itself into existence—a beautifully crafted crown made from two twisting vines of shadow, with a small dark gem embedded in the center.

Peering deeper into its inner workings, I examined the enchantments.

Memory Enchantments:[Shadow Servant],[Binding Shadow],[Shadow Domination],[Blessing of Shadows]

"Just Four?"

[Shadow Servant]

Enchantment Description:"This crown can create a perfect copy of its bearer from their shadow. The shadow servant will completely mimic the user and can reside within the shadows of others." (Active)

[Binding Shadow]

Enchantment Description:"This crown can bind multiple targets by their shadows, rendering them incapable of movement."(Active)

[Shadow Domination]

Enchantment Description:"This crown can absorb the shadows of slain enemies. The chance of success is determined by the rank and class of the slain foe. If the shadow minions are destroyed, they cannot be summoned again."(Active)

[Blessing of Shadows]

Enchantment Description:"This crown will make the wearer stronger the more shadows they are surrounded by."(Passive)

Looking at the memory, I smiled and nodded in satisfaction.

However, the description had caught me slightly off guard, and I was definitely going to look into it more at some point.

But that would have to wait. I dismissed the memory and looked over at Regis, who was steadily collecting soul shards.

While he worked, I received an alert from one of my ravens.

Switching over to its POV, I froze. It flew high in the air, and in front of it was a figure so massive it towered over the clouds, standing nearly three kilometers tall.

And within its grotesque body were seven soul cores, dripping with such powerful profanity and corruption that just looking at them made me shudder.

"A... a Cursed."