The newly risen sun shone brightly over the crimson labyrinth, illuminating their surroundings finally once again. The storm dwindled too, only leaving the havoc it brought. Stones around them were wet, and some even crushed because of the harsh winds.
The blood of the dead Scavengers and Centurion had long been washed away, leaving the top of the cliff fully clean.
Every Nightmare Beast on the mountain had died, while only the humans survived. At the moment, Rain was walking towards the makeshift cups she had set up the night before, finding water that had drizzled inside because of the rain.
There weren't many ways to obtain water in a hellhole like this. One way was to drink rain. That was the healthiest option but it was also the one where one came out with the least amount to drink, since rain wasn't something very common inside of the labyrinth.
Another way, the unhealthiest one, was to filter blood from Nightmare Creatures. As one would think, that beverage tasted disgusting, while also having a chance of leaving infections. This was the option Rain relied on the most, but thankfully, she didn't become truly sick yet, maybe because of her awakened body.
The last option was to squeeze out the water out of the crimson coral-like walls. Rain didn't know why, but her intuition screamed at her every time she wanted to drink the black water, so she refrained herself from doing so.
Picking up three cups, Rain walked over to the two other girls and sat them down
"Here, water." Rain sighed. "I'm such a bad host for leaving my guests thirsty for such a long time.
Nephis nodded and moved her hand towards one of the cups, before raising it and drinking greedily. In contrast, Cassie froze, an embarrassed expression on her beautiful face.
"Is something wrong?" Rain asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Ah, uhm… I actually have a memory that produces an endless amount of water." Her voice started to turn quieter. "I forgot about it, since things had been so hectic right from the beginning. I could've probably summoned it while we were on the headless statue, but my mind had been occupied with some stuff…" Cassie's voice trailed off.
Rain blinked, stunned for just a moment. Then, her mouth widened into an uncontrollable, greedy smile.
"An endless source of freshwater, you say?"
"Yes." Cassie answered after a second.. In the next moment, white sparks started to dance around Cassie's hand, before they slowly manifested into a beautiful bottle made of patterned blue glass. In the eyes of Rain however, it was a godly relic, shining with a holy aura. Her eyes were sparkling like two gems as she looked the bottle up and down.
"Cassie, I have a question."
"Y-yes?" Cassie asked hesitantly, slightly afraid that the girl in front of her would get mad for forgetting about something so important.
"Are you single, by any chance?"
the blonde girl's eyes widened before she burst out in laughter. The laugh was full of exhaustion, yet melancholic and out of genuine amusement. It was the first authentic laugh Rain had heard in a while, the last one having appeared even before her First Nightmare. There was no fear, no urgency, and nothing pressing down on her. Cassie was just a girl who found something funny and was strong enough to express it.
Seeing the blind girl struggling to catch her breath put a smile on Rain too. "What? Can a girl not appreciate someone with an infinite water bottle?"
Nephis, who had been silent the whole time, observed the interaction with interest. She had no social skills, so this was a great way to improve. Finding the situation amusing, Nephis released a small huff, although one that was pretty much fully silent. Nor Rain or Cassie had even realised that Nephis had released a sound.
"It's just that being hit on because of a memory wasn't something I expected to happen."
"Well, an outskirts kid like me knows valuable things when she sees it."
Rain sighed, forcing her smile to die down. Then, she feigned shyness by avoiding eye contact.
"So, can I use the bottle?"
Cassie finally started taking control again, managing to suppress her laughter, though a soft smile remained. With a nod, she extended her hand.
"Of course."
Rain carefully accepted the glass bottle, holding it in both hands like it was a sacred relic.
"Thank you, my generous lady. This humble girl will not forget your kindness." Rain said in an over exaggerated tone, before she moved the opening of the bottle to her mouth and drank greedily.
The cool, fresh water invaded her mouth, washing away all the thirst that had built up over not having drunk anything for days. Then, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and gave back the bottle to the blind girl, who took a few sips herself.
Releasing a satisfied sigh, Rain felt her mood lighten up again. But as she thought about the future, the taste in her mouth turned sour. Rain didn't want to admit it, but she had turned a little crazy after having spent a month alone in the crimson labyrinth. It had turned better after having spent time with Cassie and Nephis, however, what would happen after they left, whether by death or success.
Rain's flaw didn't allow her to leave the Dream Realm, and she wasn't confident in her ability to build new connections. It worked well with the two girls in front of her, but that was only because Nephis was also socially awkward, while Cassie relied on them to survive. In a more peaceful situation, this relationship might have never turned out to be.
"We should get back to a serious topic. The storm gave us cover from the Nightmare Creatures, but they'll come back, and this mountain will definitely not be spared—it reeks of flesh to eat."
Nephis turned her gaze towards the edge of the cliff, looking at the crimson labyrinth stretching below. The walls twisted unnaturally and turned randomly, appearing like a vortex of death. The walls narrowed from time to time, many of them turning out to be dead ends.
"We need to get moving again. Staying at one place is dangerous."
Rain turned towards the same direction, following Nephis' line of sight.
"That's right." Rain stepped closer towards the edge, analyzing the rock structure and making out the best way down. "We shouldn't waste any time. Cassie, can you summon the golden rope?"
The blonde-haired girl complied quickly, summoning the golden rope without any delay. walking towards the origin of Rain's voice, she held the rope in front of her, waiting for the pale girl to take it.
Rain took the golden rope from Cassie's outstretched hand, feeling the light weight and warmth settle in.
"Alright, let's do it like how we did it on the headless statue." Rain said, as she entangled the golden rope around herself and the two other girls. Nephis went first, steadily descending the cliff with ease. After reaching a certain point, she found purchase and waited. Rain descended next, however, she wasn't alone. Cassie was safely secured by the golden rope, but Rain still decided to wrap her arm around the blind girl's waist, making sure that she wouldn't fall.
The descent was slow and controlled.
"Has someone ever told you that you're really light?"
Cassie pouted.
"Is that supposed to be an insult or a compliment?"
"Hmm, I guess it depends on how you see it. I'd love for my belly to be stuffed full of delicious food, since it was such a rarity in the outskirts." Rain chuckled quietly at the thought of having an endless amount of food at her grasp. "It was supposed to be a compliment, though"
It didn't take much longer for Cassie and Rain to arrive next to Nephis, who then started to descend once more. The cycle of Nephis descending, Rain and Cassie following, and then repeating everything again continued for a few minutes, but in the end, their feet finally touched the muddy ground.
The storm was harsh, and yet, the putrid stench and grotesque view didn't wash away, remaining stubbornly. The crimson blades towered ominously over the small cohort, like a red cage that encompassed them from every side.
***
Two weeks later Rain stood face to face with another Carapace Centurion, calmly looking it into its harrowing eyes. It had an angered expression on its disgusting face, and the reason for that was simple. At the moment, it was being held down by a handful of its weaker brethren. That alone wouldn't have been enough to hinder it, but they weren't alone in the struggle.
A golden rope coiled and twisted tightly around the abomination's jagged body, preventing it from moving its creaking joints freely. Simultaneously, a burning sword was thrust deep in its grotesque flesh, and at the same time, something foreign was constantly trying to invade the monster's mind.
Rain had been staring at the Centurion for 2 days straight now, only one goal in her mind. She wanted one thing, and one thing alone—to make the Nightmare Creature hers. The bastard had been trailing behind them soon after they had descended the mountain on which they fought their first Centurion, thinking that the three girls hadn't realised.
What the Centurion didn't know however, was that the small group had an oracle among them. On their first night after the descent, Cassie had revealed that they were being followed. And from then on, Nephis and Rain had prepared a trap.
The first and most important step was to gather an army of abominations. This was also the easiest step, since Rain was a professional when it came to subjugating Scavengers. She had even gathered 14 Dream Fragments in that time.
The next step was a very dangerous one, since it involved confronting the Centurion directly. That job fell to Nephis. Rain gave the silver-haired girl one special memory, the [Hunter's Lure]. It was the first memory Rain had obtained and it allowed Changing Star to make the Centurion act like a mindless beast, and follow her blindly.
The now mindless beast followed Nephis with bloodlust in its twisted eyes, its gaze distant and mindless. The monster, despite its strength, helplessly followed the tall girl into a dead end, before instantly being attacked by seven Scavengers. Two of them didn't survive,but after a lot of struggle, they managed to subdue the Centurion.
There was one problem though—the nights. When the dark sea surged back from whatever hellhole it came from, the cohort was forced to climb up another mountain, leaving the Centurion completely free again. But with clever timing and tricks, they didn't allow the Centurion to flee in time, forcing it to bury itself under ground. Right when the sun rose back into the sky, the cohort didn't waste any moment on top of the cliff, going right back towards the Centurion.
And that was how they arrived in this situation.Rain stared directly into the abominations eyes, feeling its hate and bloodlust rise with each second. She had looked at the ugly bastard's visage for 2 days straight. And then, it finally happened. After constantly being attacked by Rain's Aspect Ability, the Centurion's mind broke down, transforming it into a mindless follower.
Suddenly, a familiar voice resounded in Rain's head.
[Your Dream expands.]