It had been several long, exhausting days since both Elysia and Senrix awakened their Aspect Legacies and revealed them to the others.
The revelation alone had shaken the group more deeply than anyone openly admitted.
Aspect Legacies were already rare enough to sound like myths whispered among Awakened nobles and ancient clans. Most Sleepers would spend years without ever hearing about one, let alone witnessing two people unlocking theirs before even reaching Awakening.
Yet sohow, the two most abnormal people in their group had each received a Transcendent seventh-tier mory as their very first relic.
It was absurd.
No—absurd wasn't even enough to describe it.
It felt almost unfair.
Senrix's relic was terrifying in the purest sense of the word. Even without revealing its full abilities, the sheer oppressive aura of the Dawnless Crown made everyone instinctively uncomfortable whenever he casually summoned it for even a second. It wasn't rely powerful—it carried the presence of sothing ant to rule over battlefields soaked in blood.
A crown forged for a conqueror.
A relic ant for soone who stood above countless corpses.
Elysia's relic, anwhile, was the complete opposite.
Where Senrix's mory inspired fear, hers inspired warmth.
The pale lantern-like relic she had received radiated a soft brilliance capable of slowly healing wounds while soothing the mind and spirit. Its light felt strangely comforting, almost nostalgic, like returning ho after wandering endlessly through darkness.
Even Sunny had reluctantly admitted that simply sitting near it made him feel calr.
Which was honestly terrifying in its own way.
Senrix still kept one important secret to himself.
He had discovered long ago that he could see the enchantnts of mories in complete detail, sothing nobody else in the group seed capable of doing yet. Even Sunny, who had already unlocked Shadow Dance, didn't appear to possess such an ability.
And yes… Sunny had definitely unlocked his own Aspect Legacy.
Senrix could tell just from the way Sunny fought now.
The black-haired Sleeper moved differently than before.
His body flowed more naturally during combat, his movents becoming increasingly fluid and instinctive with every battle they survived. Sotis, during sparring, it almost looked as though Sunny's body already knew what attack was coming before his mind consciously processed it.
Shadow Dance.
Even if Sunny never ntioned its na aloud, Senrix recognized the signs imdiately.
Still, Sunny had not unlocked his first relic yet.
Which ant he was still standing at the very beginning of that path.
Nephis and Cassie, anwhile, remained unable to fully awaken theirs.
So Senrix trained them relentlessly.
Especially Cassie.
Ironically, the blind girl had beco the fastest learner among the three.
At first, Senrix rely intended to teach her enough theoretical knowledge to avoid becoming a burden in battle. He explained sound-based perception, footwork patterns, predictive movents, and how to ntally map space despite lacking vision.
He never expected her to adapt so frighteningly fast.
Now, Cassie could actually participate in combat alongside them.
Not perfectly.
Not safely.
But she could fight.
And more importantly, she had begun incorporating her Essence of Combat into her movents naturally.
Foresight.
Cassie no longer reacted to attacks.
She anticipated them.
Sotis, during sparring, she would tilt her head monts before a strike arrived, moving with uncanny precision despite being blind.
The first ti it happened consistently, even Senrix had stared at her in stunned silence.
Afterward, he imdiately used her as an example to scold Sunny and Nephis.
Which both of them hated.
Especially Sunny.
"Look at Cassie," Senrix had said while crossing his arms. "She's blind and still adapting faster than the two of you."
Sunny nearly exploded on the spot.
Nephis rely looked away in silence.
Elysia laughed so hard she almost fell off a rock.
Now, after days of travel, combat, and endless exhaustion, the five of them stood atop one of the massive skeletal formations near the Ashen Barrow.
Or sowhere close to it.
Senrix honestly wasn't completely sure.
Mostly because he rarely paid attention whenever the others discussed directions or plans.
At the mont, however, even he couldn't ignore what stood before them.
The sight alone was enough to make the atmosphere feel heavy.
Unnatural.
Wrong.
Ahead of them, the endless crimson labyrinth abruptly lost all color.
The vibrant coral pathways that had once stretched endlessly across the Forgotten Shore now appeared dead and hollow. Their crimson hues had faded into lifeless shades of gray, as though so unimaginable sickness had drained every trace of vitality from them.
The once-sharp coral structures looked brittle.
Decayed.
Ready to collapse into dust with the slightest touch.
The dead region stretched endlessly toward the horizon.
Further west, the labyrinth itself seed to completely disappear beneath an imasurable wasteland of pale ash.
No crimson.
No movent.
No monsters.
Nothing.
The silence itself felt oppressive.
After spending weeks surrounded by grotesque Nightmare Creatures, hearing nothing at all sohow felt far worse.
Sunny slowly swallowed.
The absence of danger terrified him more than danger itself.
His shadow shifted uneasily at his feet.
Even Nephis narrowed her eyes slightly.
Only one notable landmark existed within the ashen expanse.
Far away in the distance, a massive hill rose from the dead landscape like a grave belonging to an ancient god.
The enormous mound was coated entirely in gray ash, giving it the appearance of a colossal burial site forgotten by ti itself.
And atop that hill…
Stood a tree.
A gigantic, incomprehensible tree.
Its trunk rose into the heavens like a dark tower forged from living night.
Its bark was blacker than the waters of the dark sea.
Its branches spread across the sky like a crimson canopy.
And its leaves—
Its leaves burned with the color of blood beneath the gray heavens.
The tree was beautiful.
Terrifyingly beautiful.
It looked ancient beyond comprehension, as though it had stood there long before humanity itself ever existed.
Sunny stared at it for several long seconds before quietly whispering:
"What… the hell is that?"
Beside him, Senrix remained completely silent.
But inwardly, his entire body tensed.
'The Soul Devouring Tree…'
Even knowing what it was failed to lessen the suffocating pressure pressing against his chest.
That thing wasn't rely dangerous.
It was catastrophic.
His gaze hardened instinctively as he stared toward the distant giant tree.
The subtle change did not escape Elysia.
The pink-haired girl quietly glanced toward him, her usual playful smile fading slightly.
Senrix was afraid.
Not cautious.
Not wary.
Afraid.
And if sothing could frighten soone like him…
Then it was undoubtedly monstrous beyond reason.
For once, Elysia chose not to joke around.
Nephis remained silent beside them, staring into the distance with a faint frown.
Unlike Sunny, she wasn't visibly disturbed.
But neither was she calm.
Then suddenly—
A bright glimr flashed beneath the giant tree.
The reflection was so intense that it cut across the wasteland like a beam of sunlight bouncing off polished silver.
It disappeared a second later.
Then reappeared again.
Sunny stiffened.
'A mirror…'
A cold chill crawled down his spine.
For so reason, that distant glimr felt deeply ominous.
Like sothing watching them from impossibly far away.
Like an invitation.
Or perhaps a warning.
After several long monts of silence, Sunny finally looked toward Nephis.
"What do you think?"
Nephis didn't answer imdiately.
Her gray eyes lingered on the giant tree for a long ti before she finally spoke in her usual calm voice.
"This is the only path west."
Senrix exhaled heavily and rubbed his forehead in annoyance.
For a brief mont, an imnse feeling of dread tried to claw its way into his mind—
But the Indomitable Human Spirit attribute crushed it almost instantly.
Sunny grimaced.
He clearly hated this idea with every fiber of his being.
"So we're really going?"
Nephis continued staring toward the distant crimson tree.
Against the endless gray wasteland, the blood-red leaves almost resembled flas burning beneath the dead sky.
Finally, she quietly said:
"Do we have a choice?"
Nobody answered her.
Because deep down…
All five of them already knew the answer.
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