Lua stared at Nephis in silence, her next words blanking entirely from her mind. She could only sigh, already knowing what Nephis was planning to attempt.
"You can't seriously be thinking about it. It's suicidal," Lua said in an exasperated tone.
"It's just a Fallen Terror," Nephis shrugged.
'...What?' Lua gaped.
Rubbing her temples, Lua shut her eyes for a few seconds before responding. "You do realise it's impossible to beat it, right? It's a Fallen Terror—it would take multiple Masters to kill one."
Nephis simply nodded. "But we have an advantage," she stated boldly.
"What advantage? Numbers? That hardly matters."
"No." Nephis remained calm. "Don't you think it's strange that there are at least two Sleepers here with True Names?"
"Two?" Lua paused. 'Does she...?'
"I know you possess a True Name, Realm Heart," Nephis said, her tone firm. "And I know your aspect isn't normal—not even close to the Sacred rank your clan labelled it as."
Lua froze. Light crimson sparks began gathering as she summoned Sky's Gift. The long crimson spear materialised in her hand, lightning coiling around the shaft as her essence poured into it.
"Watch your next words carefully," Lua said, her voice devoid of emotion, her eyes as cold and sharp as a true legacy—very unlike her usual demeanour.
"I've heard of your exploits, Realm Heart," Nephis explained. "Killing a Fallen one in your first Nightmare yet not receiving a True Name? So, I did some digging, using the last of my clan's resources, and I found it."
Lua narrowed her eyes, her grip on Sky's Gift tightening.
"I also know from experience that performing that well won't just give someone a Supreme or Sacred-ranked aspect."
'Experience?' Lua's golden eyes narrowed further. 'Does she...?'
"Performing a feat that impossible," Nephis continued, "gives both a True Name and a Divine-ranked aspect." She smiled awkwardly, as though the gesture was unfamiliar to her.
Lua lowered the crimson spear slightly. "You have one too, I assume?"
"I do," Nephis said, "and I suspect there's a third—but I'm not certain yet."
"…Sunless?" Lua asked after a pause.
"…I think so." Nephis nodded. "His power doesn't make sense. He doesn't use shards yet still grows stronger."
Lua frowned. "Why? Why are you telling me this?"
"Trust," Nephis replied simply. "We'll need everyone's full power to escape this place." She began walking towards a nearby building. "And I need information on how our aspects work."
Lua sighed and followed her. "The general points are pretty simple. Once you exceed the required number of fragments, a new core forms, upping your class. The limit is seven—Titan Class."
"How many have you formed?" Nephis asked, sitting down on an empty plot and gazing at the Crimson Spire in the distance.
"Two," Lua replied, sitting beside her. "I'm Monster Class at the moment. A quarter of the way to my third core."
"What's your plan? There's no way you'll convince everyone here to march willingly to their deaths."
Nephis remained silent, the cogs in her mind visibly turning.
"If you have more questions, come find me." Just as Lua finished speaking, a loud howl echoed from the direction of the High Street. Both Nephis and Lua's heads snapped around before they bolted towards the sound.
As they rounded a corner, they saw five Sleepers fighting a large, werewolf-like creature.
Its massive paw came down, slamming a Sleeper away. 'Awakened Demon,' Lua thought, her eyes quickly identifying the threat. Raising Sky's Gift, she threw it forward. The spear shot through the air, already crackling with bright blue lightning.
The spear slammed into the creature's leg, shattering its knee before embedding itself in a wall. The Sleepers regrouped, but before they could act, a brilliant longsword wreathed in white flames descended, splitting the demon's skull.
Nephis stood above the twitching beast and drove her blade between its eyes.
"I take it you've got this from here. See you soon," Lua said, dismissing Sky's Gift, the spear vanishing back into her Soul Sea as she waved and walked away.
Nephis watched her go, her mind already piecing together a plan to escape this cursed place.
***
The next morning, Lua set off on a solo hunt, aiming to gather fragments and inch closer to her third core. 'With our new arrivals, things are bound to change. Best to get stronger before I find myself in a pinch.'
Lua moved stealthily through the ruins, picking off multiple Awakened Beasts with swift, precise strikes from Sky's Gift. Though the fights yielded fragments, it wasn't nearly enough. 'This is too slow,' she thought irritably before resuming her hunt.
After nearly a day, she finally stumbled upon promising prey—a Fallen Demon. It was risky, but feasible to kill solo, but only someone like Lua could achieve such feats.
'It's alone,' Lua noted, her golden eyes narrowing as she formulated a plan.
The demon was a large stone statue shaped like a beautiful angel, with four feathered wings sprouting from its back. Its arms were clasped in prayer, a deceptive facade hiding its true lethality.
'Its intelligence isn't to be underestimated. I'll need to be careful.'
Activating [Blessing of Form] on Winter's Warmth, the snow-white cloak shifted into thick robes, covering most of her body except for her lower legs and forearms. The fur-lined hood remained over her head.
Lua summoned Knight's Crest, the ascended charm manifesting around her neck. Its single enchantment ready to be activated and flood her body with power and essence.
[Receptacle]
Enchantment Description: Stores up soul essence and releases it on command.
Creeping closer to the Demon, readying Sky's Gift, she aimed the spear. Lua considered activating [Forged Lightning], knowing the enchantment could potentially one-shot the Demon but it would simultaneously drain both her cores and force her to prematurely activate Knight's Crest's enchantment early.
Settling with just augmenting the memory, Lua pushed essence into the spear till a purple aura appeared over the tip. Lua pulled back whilst aiming at the statue's cores. Lua stepped forward and the spear was shot forward. It flew through the air like a crimson comet.
'Come on.'
The statue jolted just as the spear launched, pivoting to face her. Thankfully, the spear struck its thigh, crippling the demon and forcing it to one knee.
The statue shuddered and grabbed the spear and attempted to remove it. 'No!' Lua mentally screamed, summoning Arc Coil and driving it into the demon's elbow, the awakened blade piercing the joint. Lua dropped down, using her weight and the elbow as a fulcrum. The elbow shattered as Lua hit the ground leaving only a stump attached to the shoulder.
The demon staggered, its wings swiping at Lua. Leaping onto its back, she drove Arc Coil into one of its eyes, aiming to activate its enchantment.
The demon reacted violently, smashing its remaining arm into her blade. Arc Coil shattered, dissolving into white sparks. The spell's whisper following straight after.
[Your Memory has been destroyed.]
'Shit!' Lua cursed, retreating and refocusing on Sky's Gift. She activated both [Forged Lightning] and [Blood Tip] simultaneously, draining her cores as the spear erupted in bright blue lightning and blood. The combined power obliterated the demon's marble body, exposing its three profane cores.
Lua took the reprise to re summon Sky's Gift, the spear reappearing in her hand seconds later. She took shakily steps forward towards the remains, in the back of her mind she heard the dark sea's rushing water slam into the partially crumbled section of the city wall.
Lua took a moment and activated [Receptacle]. Knight's Crest, the charm round her neck flooding her core with essence. If she was being honest, Lua felt like vomiting up blood after such a feeling.
After collecting herself, Lua trudged towards the demon, spear raised. The demon smiled brightly as its arm, which Lua thought destroyed, slammed into her ribs. Winter's Warmth softened most of the blow, but the force still hit her. She careened through the air and into the partially collapsed section of wall.
She collided with a few remaining stone bricks still making up the wall before the force carried her through them, getting a few more seconds of air time before landing in the dark water.
Lua burst from the water, clambering to get back on land, but she felt it. The presence of something approaching, something powerful. She looked back. A big mistake. Approaching her was a set of terrifying jaws, with rows and rows of giant teeth, each one as long as she was tall.
"Ugh" Lua groaned as she made it to shore, but the beast didn't even stop, continuing towards her like death personified. The creature leaped out of the water, it looked like a grotesque great white shark, its large jaws set to engulf her. Without even the time to spare she was the rank and class the shark was Lua raised Sky's Gift.
The ascended spear sank into the shark's mouth, screwing it above her. There was no time to celebrate as the spear groaned in protest. The over defiled shark screamed and began to close its jaws, Sky's Gift beginning to give out.
In a moment of pure desperation Lua forced her soul essence to take the form of a shaky longsword and drove it through the roof of its mouth into its skull.
Lua used all her will power, commanding the sword to simply 'be complete' , all other thoughts left her mind as she focused on this simple command. Once the blade completed she twisted the now crackling but stable blade.
The shark spasmed, then went still.
[You have slain Corrupted Devil, Deep Dweller.]
[Your soul grows purer.]
[You have received a Memory.]
Lua spared no time for celebration. Dragging herself and the Devil ashore, she approached the twitching statue, raised the crackling essence blade above her head and decapitated it.
[You have slain Fallen Demon, Marble Angel.]
[Your soul grows purer.]
[You have received an Aspect Legacy: New Beginning.]