The coral labyrinth stretched endlessly in every direction.
Crimson corals twisted like petrified trees, their jagged surfaces catching faint traces of the fading light. Mud sucked at every step, thick and heavy, carrying the scent of minerals and stagnant water.
At the front of the small procession, Caspian walked calmly.
In his hand, the arrow of the Memory trembled faintly.
Stargaze.
The artifact adjusted constantly, its arrow shifting with subtle movements as if correcting an invisible path only it could see.
Behind him marched Alice's legion.
The formation had naturally organized itself during the first minutes of travel. The turtle soldiers formed a slow but immovable vanguard when necessary, their shields capable of blocking entire corridors of coral. The feline spearmen moved lightly along the flanks, eyes scanning the maze for threats. The rabbit warriors darted across higher formations, acting as scouts and messengers.
The lion walked near the center.
And Alice sat comfortably within the flowing mane, like a tiny queen riding her throne.
For the first time since entering the Nightmare, Caspian felt… somewhat secure.
Two Sleepers.
An organized army.
And a compass that seemed determined to keep them alive.
The chances of defeat had dropped dramatically.
Still, the labyrinth was not empty.
The first Carapace Scavenger appeared barely twenty minutes into their march.
The creature burst from behind a coral column with a shrieking clatter of chitin, its massive pincers snapping violently.
Before Alice could even give an order—
Caspian moved.
He crossed the distance in a blur, ducked beneath the first swing, and drove his armored fist directly through the creature's mandibles.
The impact cracked the shell.
Azure blood sprayed across the mud.
The creature collapsed seconds later.
Alice blinked.
"…Hey."
Caspian looked back.
"You stole that one."
He tilted his head.
"I killed it."
"That was supposed to be my enemy."
"You didn't say that."
Alice crossed her arms.
"Well, I'm saying it now."
Caspian raised an eyebrow.
"Then say it faster next time."
She glared at him for a moment.
Then smiled.
"Fine. Let's make rules."
Thus began the argument.
A surprisingly serious argument.
"If the monster appears on the right side" Alice declared, pointing dramatically "it's yours."
"Acceptable."
"If it appears on the left side, it's mine."
"Reasonable."
"And if it appears in the middle—"
"The fastest one wins" Caspian finished.
Alice nodded firmly.
"Agreed."
Velpam appeared beside Caspian, watching with amusement.
"You two are dividing hunting rights like children arguing over dessert."
He didn't paid him any attention.
And so the march continued.
The labyrinth soon proved that the arrangement was necessary.
The Stargaze was efficient — sometimes brutally so.
Whenever the shortest route required it, the arrow led them straight through clusters of Carapace Scavengers.
The second creature emerged from the right.
Caspian's.
It lasted eight seconds.
The third crawled from the left side of the corridor.
Alice's cats pierced its joints with surgical precision while the turtles pinned it against coral walls.
The fourth appeared directly ahead.
Both of them lunged.
Caspian reached it first.
By the end of the next few hours, the results were clear.
Six corpses belonged to Caspian.
Four belonged to Alice.
The coral pathways behind them were littered with shattered shells and spreading pools of azure blood.
Alice's soldiers dragged the corpses efficiently.
Crab meat, it turned out, was an excellent resource.
The feline soldiers carved the bodies with disciplined precision while the turtles carried massive portions tied with algae cords.
"Not bad, as expected of the first of the ranking..." Alice admitted after the fourth kill.
Caspian was drinking a bit of blood from the blood pond at that point.
"You're getting better."
Caspian gave her a dry look.
"I've been doing this longer today."
She laughed.
Time passed.
The sky slowly darkened.
The faint gray glow faded into deep indigo, then black.
Night was returning.
And with it…
The ocean.
The moment Caspian noticed the subtle shift in air pressure, he slowed his steps.
"Something's changing."
Alice looked up.
The distant horizon shimmered faintly.
"The dark sea is coming back! How could i forget to watch the time!"
Dark water began rising slowly between coral formations far away.
They didn't have much time.
Fortunately—
Stargaze shifted sharply.
The arrow pointed toward a massive coral structure rising like a natural fortress.
At first glance, it looked like a solid tower.
But the arrow wasn't pointing upward.
It pointed directly into it.
"That's odd" Caspian murmured.
They circled the structure carefully until the reason became clear.
An entrance.
A hollow opening carved naturally into the coral.
Inside, the tower was empty.
A vast tube-shaped chamber rose upward like the interior of a chimney.
Natural steps spiraled along the inner walls, rough but climbable.
Alice leaned forward slightly from the lion's mane.
"Scout."
One of the rabbit warriors immediately bounded forward.
It leapt against the wall, using tiny protrusions in the coral as footholds. Its movements were so graceful it barely seemed affected by gravity.
Within seconds it disappeared upward.
They waited.
Then—
A faint thump echoed from above.
The rabbit returned moments later, sliding down with ease before landing softly.
Alice listened to its quiet chirping.
Then nodded.
"The top is a sphere-shaped chamber" she explained. Big enough for all of us."
Good enough.
Because of the weight of the turtles, the lion and the crab, they came back to the soul of their master, so the two of them, alongside of the cats and the bunnies they climbed.
The ascent took several minutes.
When they finally emerged at the top, the space revealed itself exactly as described.
A massive spherical hollow at the summit of the coral tower.
Natural openings allowed fresh air inside.
Below them stretched the entire crimson labyrinth.
They had climbed above the tide line.
Perfect.
The army spread out naturally.
The rabbits perched on the spherical walls like silent sentries.
For a while, everything remained calm.
Then Alice suddenly frowned and walked toward the shaft opening.
"Wait…"
She peered down.
Black water was rising rapidly.
Within minutes, the tube-shaped stairway was completely submerged.
There was no path back down.
Caspian shrugged.
"Good thing we already climbed."
Alice nodded slowly.
"Well… looks like this is camp."
The decision was obvious.
They needed light.
One of the rabbit swordsmen stepped forward.
Alice handed him a stone.
The rabbit struck the blade against it repeatedly until sparks caught on dry coral fibers.
Soon, a small fire crackled warmly at the center of the chamber.
For the first time since entering the Dream Realm, Caspian sat beside actual firelight.
And they ate.
The crab meat cooked surprisingly well.
Salty.
Firm.
Filling.
Eventually, when the meal ended and silence settled around the coral chamber, Alice spoke.
"You know…" she said casually.
Caspian looked at her.
"You've already seen my Aspect."
She glanced at the soldiers.
"And my Flaw."
Her eyes returned to him.
"You should tell me yours too."
Caspian considered that.
It only seemed fair.
So he answered simply.
"My Aspect allows me to slightly change the properties of liquids in general."
Alice leaned forward.
"My Attributes give me affinity towards night and blood" he continued. "And I have a slight affiliation to divinity."
Her eyebrows lifted slightly.
"And my Flaw is simple."
He shrugged.
"I need to drink blood or i'll become mad."
The reaction was immediate.
Alice tensed.
The soldiers shifted subtly.
Caspian raised his hands calmly.
"Don't worry. It's under control."
He continued before suspicion could grow.
"As for my Memories — I have the armor you see, a compass that tells me where to go, a bottle with blood to satisfy my Flaw… and a strange sword I got from my first scavenger kill."
He summoned the River Blade.
The weapon appeared in his hand.
Or rather—
The cross guard appeared.
No blade extended from it.
Just the hilt and guard.
He summoned the runes.
---
Memory: [River Blade]
Memory Rank: Awakened
Memory Type: Weapon
Memory Description:
When the moon withered, the last bit of Moonlight shined upon a great river, casting the light into its waters.
---
Caspian stared at the information.
Then sighed with a small smile.
'I can't even see the Memory tier.'
He leaned back slightly.
'Finally some normality.'
He gestured lightly.
"After the armor which was parts revealed, and Stargaze, which was completely revealed… I finally got a Memory that doesn't look like it was made specifically for me."
He paused.
"Well… except the Blood Pond."
Velpam chuckled softly beside him.
"I guess it's not made for me" Caspian finished. "If it can even be called a weapon."
Velpam's voice echoed.
"If only you could see the truth about it, murderer… hahaha."
Alice shrugged.
"It happens to most of us. Not all Memories work for everyone."
Caspian nodded slowly.
Then she began speaking again.
"Well, my Attributes give me affinity to sorcery. So learning runes with Professor Julius helped a lot."
She hesitated briefly.
"And I also have a strange Attribute… it makes both good things and bad things more likely to happen to me."
Caspian blinked.
That was… interesting.
"And my Memories?" she continued. "I only have a really comfy sleeping bag."
She gestured toward the army.
"But I don't have to worry much. My soldiers already have weapons."
Caspian nodded.
Then his eyes drifted toward her bandaged arms.
Something had been bothering him.
"Our clothes didn't travel to the Dream Realm" he said slowly.
He pointed lightly.
"So how did your bandages come with you?"
Alice went silent.
Her expression darkened slightly.
"Because these bandages…"
They moved.
Slowly.
Unwrapping.
Turning into threads.
Revealing—
Nothing.
Empty space where her arms should have been.
"…are a part of me."
Caspian froze.
"I lost my arms back in the outskirts" she said quietly. "I don't want to talk about it."
The threads began weaving again, reforming the bandaged arms.
"But thanks to my Aspect… it's not as simple as absorbing creatures and spawning soldiers."
She lifted one hand slightly.
"They become threads."
She flexed the bandaged fingers.
"And I have to weave them together to build my army."
The threads fully fused again.
Caspian looked down at the fire.
"I'm… sorry to hear that."
Velpam whispered softly beside him.
"Have you noticed, murderer?"
Caspian remained silent.
"She is completely different from you."
Velpam's voice lost its humor.
"Your greatest worry was what you would eat for dinner."
He glanced toward Alice.
"She didn't even know if she would eat at all."
A pause.
"She lost her arms."
The shadow's whisper lingered.
"I hope this opens your eyes."
"The world isn't a paradise."