"My Aspect lets me summon runes in the air and conjure intangible objects out of thin air, that's how I make the signs."
The long-haired guy had started sharing his Aspect for no reason at all.
Although Sunny understood he didn't really care, after all his Aspect was clearly useless.
Kai had left to inform Nephis about the defeat of the Soul Devourer, and Effie was enjoying the tree's fruit in a corner like a child with candy.
'Well, it's not like there are many fruits on the Forgotten Shore.'
Meanwhile, he had to deal with these two idiots.
"I'll go! My Aspect is actually really fun."
'No way it's worse than the other guy's.'
He shook his head; anything was possible, really.
"My Aspect ability lets me accumulate luck—or as the spell calls it, karma. Depending on what I do or what happens around me, I can build up good or bad luck."
Sunny's eyes widened. That was actually interesting. The guy must have a ton of luck right now—after all, he was sent to the Forgotten Shore, he should be rewarded for that.
For a moment he imagined having such a power himself. If that were the case, every step he took would probably drop a gold coin.
"And my latent ability gives me the chance to land a critical hit on an enemy depending on how lucky I am."
'Sure, with the bad luck he had arriving here, he probably kills Awakened beasts in one punch.'
The two guys kept sharing things about themselves—some not-interesting attributes and their Memories.
Sunny had the feeling the long-haired one was hiding something, but he didn't insist. Not like he cared.
He stood up from the ground with a sigh, tired of listening to their nonsense.
"Does anyone have water? I want to wash up at least a little."
He had been ignoring his state for a while. He was completely filthy; his beauty was overshadowed by blood, dirt, and fruit juice. He didn't want Nephis to see him like that.
A shadow darted toward him at high speed.
He turned and caught the object elegantly—a Memory, a simple leather pouch tied with cords.
He took a look inside.
'Awakened. Seems like it can refill itself with water every now and then. Pretty useful.'
He turned toward Effie, who kept eating like the world was ending—which, in part, it was.
He didn't bother thanking her.
He walked away, far enough that the sound of their babbling wouldn't reach him.
- - -
Effie looked at the kid in surprise.
She hadn't seen him clearly before because he was covered in grime.
Now that he was clean, she realized how charming he actually was—his facial features were neat and very pretty. He wasn't in Kai's league, but he was definitely among the best-looking on the Forgotten Shore.
His muscles, although few, were well-defined.
His hair was dark and beautiful, catching the sunlight in places as it fell gently across his face.
And those deeply dark eyes… it was like staring into the night of this place. So dark, so unfathomable, and so… hypnotizing.
"Do you like what you see?"
The boy met her gaze with a piercing look, paired with a mocking smile.
"You can come closer if you want."
Effie froze.
'Did this little punk just mock me?'
A small laugh escaped his lips. He seemed to be having fun at her expense.
'Quick! I have to think of a comeback!'
Unfortunately, her mind was still blank; the shocking image of him was burned into her retina.
She had two choices: say anything and hope it worked, or stay silent and accept defeat.
'No! Never! A pretty boy is not going to beat me!'
She moved toward him with determination. This wasn't going to end here.
"Hey, pretty boy."
She got close—practically pressed against him.
"No need to act tough~."
She wrapped an arm around his neck and leaned in toward his face.
"We're humans—the few that exist in this hell."
At that moment, a creature lunged at terrifying speed, its body glowing furiously as if burning from within.
Effie tried to react but couldn't. She was thrown several meters back by the force of the impact.
'Shit!'
It didn't take her long to get into fighting position, already expecting a harsh battle.
She lifted her gaze and scanned the area; the two idiots had already summoned their Memories and were looking around with serious faces.
She shifted her eyes toward the dead tree and… froze.
Under the dead terror, surrounded by its leaves, were two figures—opposite yet harmoniously united.
A slender girl with silver hair knelt, leaning her back against the wood and looking down, making her short hair fall like a cascade.
Below, with his head resting on the girl's lap, a small pale-skinned boy looked up with wide eyes. His hair and eyes were hypnotically black, his figure standing out even more against his dark clothes.
The three sleepers stared at the pair as if witnessing a work of art.
"Wow."
It was the only thing that came out.
- - -
Sunny looked at Nephis's face, his head a bit confused.
He had just teased Effie, then she had gotten dangerously close, and now he found himself in Neph's lap—which wasn't bad at all.
A hand passed through his hair, playing with it.
He looked up at the girl's face gazing at him tenderly, like a child seeing their pet after a long time.
"How'd it go?"
Her hand slid through his strands and scratched his head.
Sunny felt incredibly good, and for some reason he didn't understand, he suddenly felt like hugging her.
"Good. It wasn't very hard, really. Why? Did you miss me that much?"
A playful smile appeared on his face.
"Just a little, you know."
She replied with the same kind of smile.
"Right… and that's the only reason you acted like that?"
Nephis stopped scratching and patted his head.
"In part."
She began standing up—they had things to discuss.
"And the other part?"
The girl followed him and rose elegantly.
"It's a secret~."
Ahead of them, three idiots stared at them with dumb looks.
Sunny moved carefully, knowing his next words could define his Fate—whether he'd go back to being Effie's punching bag or not.
When he passed beside the two morons, they both bowed their heads in reverence.
"Boss, sorry for doubting you."
'Boss? When the hell did I become their boss?'
"Yes, you're big boss."
He ignored their stupidity—mainly because he didn't want Nephis to hear anything coming from them. They could be a bad influence.
Ahead, Effie waited with a wide smile stretching from ear to ear.
"Well, it looks like—"
Right at that moment, like a guardian angel, Kai appeared carrying Cassie in his arms.
The poor girl looked quite confused.
"Lady Nephis! Are you alright?!"
Of course he was worried; Sunny could imagine Kai seeing Neph shoot off like a lightning bolt out of nowhere.
She nodded, keeping her stoic face, which only unsettled the people around them.
Kai gently set Cassie down, as if afraid of breaking her, which caused the girl to… pout?
Sunny was a bit thrown off by the sight. It didn't feel natural seeing his friend like that. His last memories of her were of a fierce and noble woman.
He was forced to abandon his thoughts when the two groups separated—more out of courtesy than anything else.
The one who had introduced himself earlier seemed responsible for helping them get acquainted.
"Hmph. Cassie, Neph, a while ago these pleasant people—except the gluttonous woman—arrived here and we met. They seem like good folks."
The two guys, who seemed to be waiting for their moment, prepared to give their elegant introduction, but of course he wasn't going to let the girls witness such slander.
"Jack, Mike! Effie and Kai—these are my companions with whom I spent a rough time in this hellish labyrinth. I assure you they're quite strong; they've got almost nothing to envy about me."
Everyone frowned at the unnecessary comment, but quickly let it go. After all, the boy was… something.
'Handsome, smart, strong, good sense of humor, pleasant, and polite—the full package.'
Beside him, Nephis looked at him with a mocking smile.
He turned toward her with a question written on his face, but she didn't answer and simply returned her attention to the others.
"S-So… a citadel really exists in this hell?"
Said Cassie, trembling slightly.
Sunny could tell the little devil was acting—she probably already knew the truth.
Effie's group lowered their heads, unable to break the sweet girl's hopes.
The glutton stood and sighed.
"First things first—we need to go. It's getting late."
The group nodded and stood up. Since most of the fruit had been eaten by Sunny and the huntress, they didn't have much luggage, so they left immediately.
'I wonder how they arrived so fast. Do they have flying Echoes?'
- - -
A cloud of grayish dust slid down the slope of the gigantic crater, moving at monstrous speed.
From afar it looked like a tiny dust trail, but in reality it was faster than the ship from his past life.
Sunny found himself on a strange sled built from bones and stone blocks.
Beside him was Nephis, looking toward the horizon with her arm resting on the structure's edge.
Ahead were Cassie and Kai, with Jack next to them.
And at the front—tongue out like a dog—Effie drove two Centurion Echoes with bravery, whipping the reins even though they couldn't actually go faster.
Beside her, Mike was hunched over his legs, one hand pressed over his mouth as if keeping something from escaping.
'Serious trouble, huh?'
He looked at Effie—it was about time she spoke, and she seemed to think the same.
"I guess, as always, I should start with the bad news."
The atmosphere grew heavier. The pair lowered their heads, pretending to be serious for the first time.
"Yes, there is a city with humans in this hell."
For a moment, Sunny noticed Cassie get excited—or at least pretend to.
"But I'm sorry to say… there's no Gate. At least not one we've freed."
Everyone stayed silent for a moment, giving them time to process it.
Though neither Sunny nor Nephis needed it—and even if she pretended, Cassie didn't either.
"But not everything is lost. We're not exactly… few."
Sunny raised a brow. This part interested him.
"How many exactly?"
Effie smiled.
"We're around five thousand Sleepers."
His eyes widened.
'5,000… that's more than I expected.'
Beside him, Nephis kept her usual stoic face, but he caught a small change in her pupils.
"Though not all are fighters. In fact, fighters are the minority—there are only about a thousand among all the Sleepers."
Which was still an impressive number.
"The rest are mostly simple helpers—they carry food and materials for the craftsmen and fighters, and do what they can, basically."
He let out a sigh. They had a lot of work ahead if they wanted to get that many people out of this place.
"And the others?"
Effie turned her head, giving him a sideways smile.
"They're divided into three groups: craftsmen, architects, and cooks. Those last ones don't only cook—some have abilities that help preserve food better, grow edible plants, and other useful things to maintain a civilization and all that."
Honestly, he was pretty impressed. Organizing that many people and giving them useful work had definitely been a huge task.
'But it'll all be worth it.'
This time he was going to save as many Sleepers as possible. He'd make sure each of them had a chance to leave.
They traveled for several hours on the sled. At some point, they stopped descending and started climbing a hill.
The sun had passed the zenith a while ago when he saw it—he caught sight of the dark city's walls on the horizon.
But something was strange. In some parts of the wall he could see irregular mounds.
'Did they fight a Deep creature?'
That's what he thought at first, but as they approached he started noticing strange things—glints reflecting sunlight, some parts not made of stone, and figures walking atop those points.
Those strange mounds…
"Those are secondary bases."
Effie said.
"So that's how it is."
Nephis replied calmly.
Sunny was surprised—not because it was something rare or extraordinary.
'Wow, that's cool.'
They had hanging bases on the city walls, though he had doubts about how they functioned during the night.
But something else surfaced.
Why have bases on the wall? He doubted they built them there just because.
Effie seemed to notice his confusion.
"Before, we only had to worry about the monsters inside the city. Even though they were strong, most had already been studied and we knew how to beat them."
One of the idiots crawled out of the trash.
"I once killed an Awakened devil all by myself!"
Effie smacked him aside.
"Two years ago, something unexpected happened. A wave of nightmare creatures came from the labyrinth—hundreds of them. Many lost their lives fighting them."
Sunny raised a brow.
'Was it the Crimson Terror?'
"Since then, waves of several hundred creatures arrive roughly every three months. Most are repelled easily."
If they could repel several hundred creatures with relative ease, the Sleepers in this timeline were much stronger than he had thought.
Nephis spoke suddenly.
"When is the next wave?"
Effie gave her a smile.
"In about a month."
Sunny saw her simply nod in acknowledgment, then turn her gaze to him.
He held her stare for a few seconds, frowning, but in the end, he couldn't beat her.
She was probably going to do something dangerous and stupid.
He closed his eyes, stopped frowning, and smiled softly.
'Even now, I can't beat you.'
He looked up at the sky, already growing darker.
At that moment, they finished climbing and began moving in a straight line.
'Well… I guess this is where it truly begins.'