A new guest

'Echoes of the Drowned, huh?' Eirwen repeated the name of his newly obtained attribute, his golden eyes burning brightly.

Andromeda finally sat back, releasing him from her tight -and painful- embrace.

"Are you alright?" she asked, her voice filled with concern as she carefully examined his face. Worry and exhaustion were painted across her features as her gaze moved downward, scanning his body for any signs of remaining injuries that haven't been healed by his Flaw.

There were still faint burn marks across his body. His hair had gotten a bit shorter, the tips clearly singed and uneven, and his whole body felt sore, as if he had been torn apart and stitched back together too many times to count.

Which was kind of what happened to him anyway…

Eirwen glanced at her. "How long was I out?"

A brief silence followed before she answered, her words leaving him stunned.

"I suppose it's been around a week? It's hard to tell when the night passes so quickly here."

'Nearly a week? Fantastic.' Eirwen thought with a wince as he tried to stand up, only for pain to shoot through his body. It wasn't just from the real injuries -his burns, his aching muscles and quite literally everything else- but also from what he had endured in that strange realm.

Even if it wasn't real, it sure as hell felt like it was.

Andromeda immediately reached out, steadying him as he slowly pushed himself to his feet with another wince.

His bare feet quietly smacked against the cold stone as he looked around for the first time.

The two of them were inside a small, cramped cave. A couple of makeshift sleeping areas were scattered near the edges with a bonfire at the center.

"And where are the others? No one died, right?" Eirwen asked, summoning a Memory to cover himself.

She shook her head, watching sparks flicker around his body and form into black, fitted and warm armour. "Seraphiel is on watch, and Raijin and Eliot are out searching for food."

"The Nightmare Creature you killed gave us some food, but there wasn't much left of its corpse after your fight, so it didn't last long," she explained quietly.

Nodding, Eirwen stepped forward on his own, the Flaw working its wonders on his body. Even the pain from the air against his skin already faded away.

And by then, the Memory had fully manifested around him, though he had chosen not to summon the cape for now.

'I need to test the new Attribute. I really hope all this bloodydamn pain wasn't for nothing,' he groaned in his mind before glancing back at Andromeda. 'There's also the issue of losing my Recordings.' A silent sigh escaped his lips.

"When are Eliot and Raijin coming back? We've already stayed here long enough because of me." Eirwen said, before pushing back the gnawing thoughts.

He had always been so concerned about others being a burden to him, only to end up as one himself.

'They probably needed time to recover anyway,' he reassured himself. 'And without me, they would've died against that burrowing bastard.'

As if they would have been here in the first place if not for him.

"Soon," Andromeda mumbled after a moment of thought, completely unaware of Eirwen's expression. "It's already been an hour, I think."

After scanning the cave and spotting the entrance, Eirwen nodded and gestured toward it. "Tell me what happened after I killed the centipede," he said, marching toward the crack in the wall where bright light spilled into the cave.

Andromeda hesitated for a moment before following him. "After the explosion, I ran to you right away, but the flames were too intense." She paused briefly. "I had to just stand there and watch the fire burn around you and the Nightmare Creature for nearly ten minutes."

She fidgeted with her fingers as they stepped out of the cavern onto the rocky ground. The bright, azure light blinded them for a moment before their eyes adjusted to the change.

"When we finally got to you, your body was completely destroyed, but we saw your Flaw working. So we grabbed you and rushed down the slope as fast as we could before hiding in this cave."

"Eliot and Raijin were also badly wounded -and still are- but once the food ran out, they refused to wait and decided to go out and hunt for something."

Eirwen glanced around quietly as he listened to her.

The two of them now stood on the flat expanse at the end of the slope -the very place they had been heading toward before the Burrowing Death attacked them.

Before he could ask where Seraphiel was, a loud thud echoed before him.

"Morning." The white-haired boy spoke. His elegant, milky attire flowed softly around him, making him look almost like some prince's ghost.

Scoffing in return, Eirwen answered. "Morning indeed. Spotted anything interesting?" he asked, looking up at the building-sized, jagged boulder the Sleeper had just jumped down from.

Seraphiel shook his head. "Nothing, like always."

"What do you mean?" Eirwen asked, redirecting his gaze back to him and raising a brow.

"I haven't seen any more Nightmare Creatures since that fight," the white-haired Sleeper answered, pointing toward the slope further up.

A small crater marked the spot, its edges scorched and blackened.

"And why exactly are Eliot and Raijin bothering hunting then? Andromeda told me they're still recovering," he asked, sparks dancing around his shoulders before forming into a heavy, fur-lined cloak.

Seraphiel looked at him with his usual blank expression before shrugging. "They went to the monolith forest," he said, gesturing to the side toward the titanic boulders jutting out of the earth, resembling a forest made of stone.

Eirwen's brow twitched in frustration. "Can you call your brother back somehow? I know you two have that weird connection."

Before Seraphiel could answer, he quickly turned his focus inward, searching through his two Cores.

'Good, at least one Core is full,' he thought in relief.

"I'm not a telepath. And there is no 'connection' between us either," the young Dreamer answered sharply, his light brows furrowing.

Rolling his eyes, Eirwen mumbled under his breath, "God forbid I ask this nonchalant bastard for anything."

Swoosh!

'Something is coming. Dodge.' Leviathan's voice echoed calmly in Eirwen's mind, yanking him out of the conversation and dulling all of his senses for a split second as something whistled through the air.

His golden eyes widened.

Without hesitation, he grabbed both Andromeda and Seraphiel by their collars before leaping forward.

Crash

'Perfect. I needed a target anyway!' Eirwen groaned through gritted teeth, quickly rolling to the side and pushing himself up just as something crashed into the spot where they had been standing moments ago.

Dust and snow burst into the air around them, shrouding everything in a thick mist.

But even without seeing the enemy, Eirwen could feel it -an overwhelming pressure. Whatever had just crashed was stupidly strong.

Specks of light began flickering around his right hand as he summoned Hydra's Choice. At the same time his mind locked onto the new Attribute and his Soulrune, fully ready for the fight.

But what happened next left him confused.

A human, male voice echoed from within the swirling dust and snow.

"My head…" it -he?- muttered quietly, almost as if wincing.

Hydra's Choice had already fully formed around his arm. Taking a defensive stance, he spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. "Are you a human?!"

No answer came.

As the mist thinned, a figure started to emerge, gently rubbing his head.

"I am not just a human. I'm your savior." He winced again before straightening up.

"Saint of the Second Solo-Division of Scouts under the great Monarch and General Gehrman" the man introduced himself with a loud and rather joyful voice, his features still obscured.

Eirwen's mouth fell slightly open as if he was about to say something while his eyes were filled with pure confusion.

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if anyone is still reading so far (except Apathy) I would love to know, just leave a comment or anything, cause sometimes I feel like there is only one reader