On a tall hill bathed in the dying light of dusk, there sat four people.
Three female and one male.
One was a pink-haired woman happily humming a soft, lilting song despite the bleak, hostile environment she was in.
Then, a bit to her right, was a blonde-haired woman who seemed to be blind, her veiled eyes staring serenely into nothing.
Next to her was a black-haired boy who remained completely silent, his presence subdued like a shadow clinging to stone.
Then there was a silver-haired woman who seemed to be cooking, her hands moving with practiced, efficient grace over the fire.
The rich, savory smell of roasting meat permeated the air, thick and tantalizing despite the desolation surrounding them.
At the same time, the sun was beginning its slow, inevitable approach toward the distant horizon.
A loud, ominous rumble came from somewhere far beneath their feet, and the first dark traces of the black water began to seep and bubble between the crimson walls of the labyrinth.
Sunny looked east, where the skies were already growing dark and bruised with the coming night.
Then he shifted uncomfortably, the stone beneath him cold and unwelcoming.
"Do scavengers come all the way up here?"
Nephis turned the meat and nodded. "Yes. But… only at night. In the day, most of them seem to disappear."
Sunny grinned, having a clear idea of why there weren't a lot of monsters roaming the labyrinth during the day.
"That's because they all gather near the place I've been spending my time recently. You should have seen it, the tall cliff to the west of here. Well, it's actually a statue."
Cassia opened her eyes wide. "A… a statue? But for you to survive, it should be…"
"Yes, it's a giant statue of a knight, at least two hundred meters tall. He is missing his head, so I hid on top of the neck. Anyway… the day we were sent here, two sea creatures fought each other near that statue. When the water receded, I saw an enormous carcass lying there, with hundreds of scavengers slowly tearing it apart."
Elysia still didn't seem to be interested in such things.
She moved her body a bit then continued looking at one specific location in the distance, seemingly waiting for something, or rather someone, to appear from the gathering shadows.
'Weird, just earlier this woman was quite chatty and bright, but when we managed to get back here...'
Nephis nodded. "That would explain the lack of Nightmare Creatures during the day. How long?"
Sunny blinked. "How long what?"
Changing Star stared at him for a few seconds, her gaze heavy and unreadable, making everyone feel uncomfortable. "How long... until they are done devouring the carcass?"
"They are all dead."
Sunny was surprised by the voice that randomly came out of nowhere, carried on the wind.
He instantly recognized that voice, as he had tried to gather more information about him for three days straight and ended up with nearly no discoveries, except for the fact that his Aspect was super strong flames, he had a super strong Memory, and that he was also from the Immortal Flame clan.
Cassie was extremely surprised by that voice, so much so that she hugged Elysia, who was beside her, almost by reflex.
It wasn't that she was afraid of the man himself; it was more like an instinctive reaction to go toward the most trusted person she knew in this cursed place.
Senrix flew down toward the hill where the squad was cooking, and he said once more after making the helmet of his armor disappear with a faint hiss of steam.
"I killed all of them before coming here."
'Why are you so straightforward?!?!?'
Sunny shouted in his mind, bewildered by how straightforward and blunt Senrix talked.
"My, how many did you kill?" The voice of Elysia came, light and curious.
She stood up and walked toward him.
Her clothing covered only the most important places and left the other parts of her skin bare to the cooling evening air.
Looking at her alluring figure, Senrix looked at the darkening sky for a moment, patting Elysia's shoulder as he said:
"About a hundred or so."
Elysia's eyes widened for a bit before going back to normal.
She summoned the Memory that Senrix had given her, reading its runes with quiet focus.
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Memory: Midnight Cloak.
Rank: Awakened
Tier: II
Memory Type: Armor.
Memory description: [The youngest of the seven heroes loved the night, for it was the only time the world was quiet. When the sky fractured and the stars died, he wrapped himself in the final hour of true dusk, refusing to let the light of the corrupt sun touch his skin. He died in the dark, laughing at the dawn.]
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The cloak was pitch black with stars shifting in its silk, flickering, and beautiful.
"Thank you for the Memory."
After Elysia thanked Senrix sincerely, she walked toward where Cassie was and sat down once more, now more covered.
'Huh?'
That was the collective thought of the three remaining Sleepers.
Sunny was once again bewildered, this time because of how fast the two of them talked to each other.
'Did they talk in some hidden language I don't understand, because why are they so straightforward toward each other???'
Nephis looked at the armored Senrix and the cloaked Elysia and silently thought to herself, 'Did they talk behind my back back then?'
And Cassie was confused on why Elysia thanked Senrix for a Memory as no one had spoken or explained anything.
She could only use her dormant ability to check their attributes.
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Name: Sunless
Attributes: [Spark of Divinity] [Shadowspawn] [Child of Shadows] [The Solace] [Fated]]
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Name: Nephis
Attributes: [Spark of divinity] [Dreamspawn] [Nephilim] [The Fire]
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Name: Elysia
Attributes: [Spark of divinity] [Ego] [Angel] [The Heart]
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Name: Senrix
Attributes: [Spark of divinity] [Dreamspawn] [Asura] [The Apocalypse] [Indomitable Human Spirit] [Fated]
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'Why does everyone except me have an affinity toward divinity?'
Cassie silently thought as Nephis began to talk with Senrix about how he had managed to find them and such things like that.
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A/N: having no one to read my chapters in its draft form is so hard lol, being friendless is truly a harrowing and an arduos experience.