The way towards the ashen barrow had been safer than Sunny expected. He really thought that there would be some abomination waiting to ambush and eat them, but there was really nothing.
His shadow had not noticed anything, either. The sun was still high in the sky, and they had a lot of time left. Looking back at the place they had just come from. It was something they could only call a bone ridge. The massive spine of a being Sunny could not even fathom served as a silent reminder of monsters that could squash them like bugs in seconds. Not to mention that tyrannical aura it seemed to seep, preventing them from even leaving scratches on it.
"Should we go back to the ridge?" Sunny asked.
Nephis's striking gray eyes lit up with contemplative light. "Maybe… we can probably reach the barrow today, but we could still use hunting a bit more."
"Yeah, let me check the island with my shadow first, though."
Nephis nodded. "That is a good idea. We still have enough time to go back."
After deciding their next move, Sunny's gloomy shadow slid towards the island. Moving up the sand from the dead coral, the shadow had reached the island with the tree. What Sunny saw next sent a cold chill down his spine.
On the ashen ground littered with red leaves, a monster unlike any they had fought knelt before the tree with strange reverence. Even with it kneeling down, Sunny could make it out to be tall, at least five meters when standing up. The beast looked like an unholy fusion of a scavenger and a centurion, having sets of pincers and scythes. Unlike them, though, it did not have a carapace armor. Instead, it was covered in shining, metallic armor. On its bestial torso, Sunny could make out seven shining stars. Its head was more like a human's, but it still looked twisted and monstrous with spikes protruding from its helmet.
The monster looked up at one of the luscious, tasty-looking fruits of the crimson tree. When its gaze fell on the red skin, ravenous light flashed in its primal eyes. The desire for it was so strong that Sunny could almost feel a small part of it from its shadow. Then it stood up, and Sunny realized it was much larger than he had estimated, at least seven meters. It reached out with one of its pincers and plucked the ripe fruit off the tree. Handling it carefully, like the centurion with the shard yesterday, it bit into the fruit.
"We have to go!" Sunny said, not letting the monsters appearance get to him.
"What is it, Sunny?" Nephis asked immediately.
"A demon… I think. Maybe a devil."
She opened her mouth and spoke, her voice keeping the same sharp edge. "We should return to the ridge for now and come up with something."
Sunny nodded slowly.
***
When the trio made their way back into their hiding place, it was already evening. Sunny had not wasted time, immediately explaining the monster's appearance to the two. Nephis remained the same, expressionless and fearless. As if it were just another enemy they would have to kill, an enemy she could fight back against, and one she could kill. Sunny could share the same sentiment, though a bit less than her. Their own demons were incomparably more viscous and dreadful. Sunny might have felt a small chill, but the thing was not enough to truly push him out of control.
Even against the first centurion, he had not been scared. If he were truly scared, he would choose to run, not face it head-on. This time, Sunny had come to terms with his situation just as quickly as back then as well. The barrow was the only way west, which meant they had to kill it.
"So… are you two going to fight it?" Cassie asked in a calm tone, already desensitized to all the craziness going on between these two.
Sunny took a sizzling piece of meat off the fire and, before he bit into it, said. "I'm trying to think up a plan. I'll just sleep it out and come up with something tomorrow."
Nephis nodded, wordlessly agreeing with Sunny. They had not said a word ever since then, eating their food and going to sleep shortly after. The day had been eventful for them. Nephis even absorbed her first-ever transcendent soul shard.
***
Cassie opened her eyes. She had been expecting to be met with a dark and lightless world, but to her shock, she could see.
'Another vision.' Was the first thing that came to her mind. That was the only time her flaw was not active, and as far as she knew, flaws were absolute.
She focused on the vision, to make out what she was seeing. Everything was so clear without the cruel judgment of her flaw.
She saw the ashen barrow at night, enveloped in a raging storm. The strong winds were bending the branches of the tree, as if desperate to break them. The island was lit by a constant barrage of thundering lightning, rain falling from the skies like a broken dam.
The carapace demon was there. It looked just as Sunny described it, like an unshakable titan made of polished steel. Arcs of electricity were dancing on the spikes of its armor, but it paid them no attention.
When she looked at its eyes, she wanted to scream. It was almost like looking at something churning below a deep well, a sense of emptiness and corruption emanating from its lightless eyes.
As time passed, the winds weakened, and the rain stopped. The great tree stood unshaken, just as magnificent, with not even one bright red leaf snapping off its branches. But then, like a last moment of defiance, one final bolt of lightning struck the ground beside it.
The lightning could never hurt the demon, not to mention the tree. However, when it hit the ground, it ignited the fallen leaves that covered the surface of the barrow in fury. Soon, the entire island was covered in fire, like a heated lighthouse calling to everything around.
What Cassie saw next left her shocked. The sinister demon moved for the first time, fear filling its empty eyes, trying to save the tree. But when the fire died down, it was already too late.
The dark sea surged, and from within came a being that she could not dare to directly glance at. It felt as if she did. She would die. The only thing she could make out was its rough appearance and size. It looked like an amalgamation of flesh and bone connected by black seaweed. It was the most repulsive thing she had ever seen. However, it was slow and clumsy, almost as if weakened on land.
The demon lunged at the intruder, completely ignoring the fact that it was almost ten times its size. It was almost like it was raging because someone dared to invade its island… like it had lost all its twisted rationality the moment it set foot on land.
Cassie did not see the battle, only its start and the end. At the break of dawn, when it ended, the demon crawled back to the tree. It was severely wounded, having lost most of its legs and arms, and cracks marring its once pristine armor. The most grievous wound, though, was on its chest. The breastplate was entirely torn off, and the flesh had been torn off, revealing the beating heart inside, with a fountain of azure blood spilling from it.
The next thing she saw was the passage of time. She could not see how long it took, but eventually the Carapace Demon was able to recover from its wounds, regrowing all its lost limbs. The terrible gash on its chest was the last to heal. It did not heal fully, though. Unseen, there was a weakness hidden in its armor.
Then, she woke up, returning to the cruel embrace of her flaw, desperately gasping for air. The black, lightless world was scary and unwelcoming to her. But like in the night sky, in its dark abyss also burned radiant stars of hope, ones that kept her going. Her parents, for one. They were not here now. In fact, they probably thought her dead and were grieving, but she could not wait to reunite with them. The other, where stuck in this place with her.
They were Sunny and Nephis, of course. She had grown to love and cherish them. They had gone out of their way to protect them many times, not leaving her blind and defenseless alone. She knew that they had been fighting their own battles, too. Maybe their demons were much more terrifying than hers… no, she had no doubt that they were. But they had still chosen not to abandon her.
Cassie did not forget that memory of Nephis opening up to Sunny while they thought she was asleep. Ever since they she had this deep desire to help them out, to not be a hindrance. She felt like she finally had the chance to help.
Her ability had shown her a vision that could be helpful, something that might even save their lives. So when the two had approached her, she had been ready to tell the entire vision.