"Why do you say that?" the witch and the guard asked in unison.
After thinking about it, Raven came to the conclusion that the Reaper was indeed still alive. His reasoning was pretty straightforward: he did not hear the familiar voice congratulating him on slaying the creature after it got buried, which meant that it was not slain.
But he couldn't explain that to his companions.
He said with a smirk, "Do you really think the monster couldn't climb out of the quicksand? It has six limbs and is almost ten feet tall."
Neither the guard nor the witch could find a flaw in his argument.
Raven continued, "That means it's still alive somewhere underground. We have some time because it is after the shard."
The Witch cursed loudly, staring into the darkness with terror in her eyes. The Guard rubbed his temples, mumbling, "Of course. Why didn't I realize myself?"
Raven said, "We have to leave as soon as possible!"
After that, Raven got up and began to search the carnage. Something shiny caught his eye. He went closer and saw a golden spyglass, a relic from the pirate movies he used to watch. Beside it were the head guard's remains, a body mangled, its head and legs gone, blood splattered like a gruesome painting on the sand.
The cloak on the remains was torn, but Raven's gaze lingered on it. It had constellations on it, a celestial map now stained with blood.
"I would wear it if it didn't have blood all over it," he thought as he picked up the spyglass.
From the corner of his eye, he saw the guard on one knee. He turned his head and saw the man was mumbling, his right hand clasped over his chest. Raven drew closer, straining to hear.
"May the constellations open their divine kingdoms for these poor souls," the guard was repeating this line over and over again.
Raven thought, "He really is a hero. Such a shame he will die by my hands."
Of course, he still remembered the pain when the guard whipped him. He had already decided then that he was going to kill him. He wasn't one to forget a grudge, and the guard acting like a hero only deepened his hatred. Raven planned to use him to the fullest before putting an end to him.
Raven, shaking his head, forced himself to focus. He spotted a bag, walked toward it, and picked it up. It was an animal skin bag with a rope attached to the upper end and the bottom. He looked inside and saw dried-up meat and three water flasks.
He wore the bag over his shoulder while thinking about ways to use his [Theft] ability. He saw a corpse of a criminal, its whole left side a bloody ruin. He almost vomited when he saw the corpse, but an idea flashed in his mind.
"I wonder..."
Raven extended his right hand toward the corpse's fingernail. He clenched his hand, twisted his wrist toward himself, and felt a brutal poke in his palm. He opened his hand and saw a bloodied fingernail.
"I can work with this," Raven thought, a sinister curl twisting the corners of his mouth.
After collecting food, water, and firewood, he arrived back where he had talked with his allies. The witch was already sitting there with an animal skin bag and a short sword by her waist, while the guard was standing and facing the corpses. He also had an animal skin bag over his shoulder and a sword by his waist.
"Let's set off," Raven said.
The guard nodded.
The witch stood up.
After some time passed, the trio was walking in the silent desert. The night sky was shining with bright stars, creating a beautiful picture.
The witch broke the silence. She sighed and said, "So why do you want to head to the sea?"
Raven thought about it for a bit, then took a deep sigh. "To return home."
The witch looked at Raven's back for a while and stayed silent.
"How did you learn to cast a curse?" Raven asked.
"I learned the language of the stars," the witch replied.
"The language of the stars sounds cool," he thought.
The witch asked, "When did you learn to steal like that?"
"I could steal for as long as I can remember." Raven replied.
He asked, "Can you teach me the language of stars?"
The witch said, "You can only learn it if you're blessed by a constellation."
Disappointed, he turned his head, looked at the guard, and said, "What about you?"
The guard said, "I have already awakened my Neula core."
The Neula core was a mystical core of one's soul, capable of accumulating and storing vast amounts of Neula essence.
The witch's expression grew wary, but Raven's was as calm as the sea. He had already expected this. To fight that monstrosity and live to tell the tale was an accomplishment worthy of an Orbiter, in his terms.
Though it was still the middle of the night, Raven's body ached with a bone-deep weariness. His allies were not even tired. He had expected this from the guard, but not from the witch. To not show his weakness and lose authority over the group, he kept a straight face.
The trio arrived at a sand dune. Ahead of them was a valley between the dunes.
"Let's rest in the valley until morning," Raven said.
The guard nodded.
"Okay, I will come in a bit," the witch said.
He understood she wanted some privacy, and he had no reason to question her. So he simply nodded.
Raven and the guard went down the sand dune and arrived at the valley. The guard coaxed a fire to life, its flickering glow a harsh, fragile shield against the desert night. He began to sizzle some camel meat.
After the witch arrived, Raven started eating the camel meat. It was his first time eating any kind of meat after transmigrating, and so he was in good spirits.
"It tastes just like beef," Raven thought.
After the trio finished their meal, Raven took out his spyglass.
"Where did you get that from?" the guard asked.
"From the head guard's body," he replied.
After saying that, he headed up the sand dune. Even though he couldn't see in the darkness, he could still see the neula cores because of his [Eye of Stars] attribute. During the day, however, he had to focus his eyes on a person for a bit to see their soul or neula core.
He arrived at the peak of the sand dune and raised the spyglass to his right eye, looking back in the direction of the caravan. He saw a bright, circular light he quickly recognized it as the Desert Reaper's Neula core. A chill ran down his spine. The monster's core was bobbing up and down.
Raven quickly put away the spyglass and went down the valley. Seeing Raven descend in a hurried manner, the witch asked with an anxious expression, "What did you see?"
"The monster has come out!" Raven replied with a grave expression.