Cassie sat quietly beneath the vast scarlet canopy of the great tree, her back resting against the smooth obsidian bark while countless crimson leaves rustled softly above her like an endless ocean of whispers carried by the cold wind. The air around the Ashen Barrow was strangely peaceful today, almost deceptively so, yet no amount of silence could calm the faint unease lingering within her chest.
A full day had passed ever since she woke from that strange and horrifying dream.
Or perhaps…
It had not been a dream at all.
Not far away, Elysia was carefully tying together long pieces of dark wood for the unfinished boat while humming a soft lody beneath her breath. The warm golden glow of the Soul Lantern illuminated her delicate features and flowing pink hair, bathing the surrounding roots in gentle light that contrasted against the bleak world of ash and crimson surrounding them.
Nearby, Sunny sat cross-legged on the ground with Midnight Shard resting atop his lap while muttering endless complaints under his breath as he sharpened the dark tachi with a piece of rough stone. Every few seconds, he would grumble sothing about demon at, starvation, or how unfair life was in general.
Beside him, Nephis silently polished Dream Blade with slow and asured movents, her pale face calm and unreadable beneath the scarlet light filtering through the leaves above. Occasionally, she glanced toward the unfinished boat as though already planning their next move once they finally departed from the Ashen Barrow.
And Senrix…
Cassie slowly turned her head toward his direction.
Even without sight, she could sohow feel where he was.
He remained exactly where he had been yesterday.
Sitting atop one of the colossal roots of the great tree while facing southwest.
Motionless.
Silent.
The cold wind brushed against his ash-white hair, making it sway softly beneath the scarlet canopy. The atmosphere around him felt distant, heavy, almost suffocatingly quiet.
That frightened her more than she wanted to admit.
Usually, Senrix was never truly silent. Sotis he mocked Sunny just to annoy him. Sotis he deliberately provoked Nephis out of boredom. Sotis he quietly listened whenever Elysia rambled endlessly about random things.
And sotis…
Sotis he simply sat beside Cassie without saying anything at all, yet sohow still made her feel safe.
But ever since she woke up…
Sothing about him had changed.
He had beco quieter.
Far quieter.
Not the peaceful kind of silence.
Not the comfortable kind.
No.
This silence felt cold.
Cassie lowered her head slightly before summoning her runes.
Na: Cassia
True Na: —
Rank: Dormant
Class: Beast
Soul Fragnts: [74/1000]
Aspect Na: [Rembrance]
Aspect Rank: [Sacred]
Aspect Description: [What is forgotten does not truly disappear. It rely stops being noticed. But sotis… sothing rembers anyway. A sll. A place. A word. And suddenly, the forgotten returns, incomplete yet undeniable.]
Dormant Ability: [Runic Gaze]
Ability Description: [You can perceive the runes of others.]
Innate Ability: [Oracle]
Ability Description: [The world does not move freely. It follows unseen threads long before events arrive. Sotis, for a brief mont, those threads beco visible to you.]
mories: [Endless Spring], [Tempest Staff], [Azure Blade]
Echoes: —
Attributes:
[Fated]-attribute description: "The strings of fate wrap tightly around you. Unlike events, both good and bad, are drawn by your presence. There are those who are blessed, and are those who are cursed... But rarely both"
[mokeeper]-attribute description: "So mories fade. So are stolen. So are buried so deep that even the gods forget them. Yet your soul continues to carry what should have been lost."
[Spark of Divinity]-attribute description: "Every fire starts from a spark. Sowhere deep within your soul, a radiant spark shines with divine light."
[Blood Weave]-attribute description: "You have inherited a part of Weaver's forbidden lineage. Your blood has been altered and imbued with odd tenacity."
Flaw: [Blindness]
Cassie quietly listened to the rustling leaves overhead while absorbing the aning hidden within the glowing runes.
Three new attributes.
Even now, the thought still felt unreal.
Back then, she had only possessed mokeeper, and even that Attribute had done little more than strengthen her mory. At the Academy, she was still helpless. Still blind. Still soone who constantly relied on others just to navigate through everyday life.
No matter how hard she tried, she always remained behind everyone else.
A burden.
Soone who needed protection.
Soone who needed guidance.
But now…
Things were changing.
Slowly.
Painfully.
Yet undeniably.
Her fingers trembled slightly.
She could finally help them.
Not only through visions.
Not only through warnings.
Not only by standing helplessly behind everyone while they bled and fought for her sake.
Now, she could finally beco soone capable of changing fate itself.
A small bittersweet smile appeared on Cassie's face.
Useful.
Such a simple word.
Yet she had desired it for so long that it almost hurt.
Cassie gently wrapped her arms around her knees while listening to the distant sounds surrounding the camp.
The soft crackling of fire.
The scraping sound of Sunny sharpening Midnight Shard.
The quiet rustling of Elysia adjusting ropes around the unfinished boat.
The faint breathing of Nephis.
And the near-silent presence of Senrix.
Back when she thought she would die alone before even understanding what kind of monster hunted her, Nephis had appeared like a star piercing through endless darkness.
Back when she thought nobody at the Academy would ever truly understand her isolation, Elysia stayed beside her patiently without ever making her feel weak for relying on her help.
Back when fear and helplessness threatened to consu her whole, Sunny sohow always managed to make her laugh despite his endless complaining and dramatic attitude.
And Senrix…
Cassie quietly lowered her head.
Whenever danger appeared, he stood before it first.
Whenever pain ca, he endured it without hesitation.
Whenever she was afraid…
He made sure she never had to face that fear alone.
A faint warmth spread through her chest.
She truly loved this cohort.
Perhaps more than anything else in the world.
The wind gently brushed against her blonde hair while the scarlet leaves above swayed softly like flowing rivers of blood beneath the pale sky.
Then—
Cassie suddenly froze.
A strange sensation crawled through her mind.
Like invisible threads tightening around her thoughts.
Her expression slowly darkened.
Fragnts suddenly surfaced within her mory.
A black lacquered mask.
Countless overlapping voices speaking all at once.
Endless threads stretching through an infinite darkness.
A face so beautiful, horrifying, sacred, and profane that her mind instinctively refused to rember it.
Her breathing beca uneven.
Her heartbeat accelerated violently.
"…Weaver…"
The whisper escaped her lips unconsciously.
Far away, the faint sound of movent echoed across the giant roots.
Senrix had stood up.
The atmosphere around the camp instantly changed.
Sunny stopped sharpening Midnight Shard.
Nephis slowly lifted her head.
Even Elysia paused in the middle of tying a rope.
Cassie could feel it.
That suffocating silence surrounding Senrix had disappeared.
In its place…
Was tension.
A cold, dreadful tension that made the scarlet leaves above rustle louder beneath the wind.
For several long monts, nobody spoke.
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