[Cassie's POV]
Who are these people?
Nephis, I could wrap my head around, the daughter of the first saint in human history, would naturally be anything but ordinary.
But even Sunny, the boy I had gotten to know during my short stay at the academy, the sleeper who had been only one rank above me, carried shocking secrets.
And now, this person, Sunny's friend, seemed to be no different.
Every person in this room, except me, was in possession of absolutely stunning attributes, traits of the highest order.
Though the person in front of me held an even greater air of mystery.
**********************************
Attributes: [Blessed by the Sword], [One who Stood at the peak], [Mark of the -!+@!], [Perfect Harmony], [???].
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I was quite frankly a little shocked.
It was the first time that I had been denied knowledge.
While I was able to see the majority of his attributes, some of the text was censored, my abilities unable to pierce the veil that blocked my view.
It was odd, and in a way, it put me on edge.
It was just... unexpected.
I sat there for a little while, just reading through whatever was available to me, scanning the descriptions of his traits for any morsel of useful information.
****
Attribute: [Blessed by the Sword]
Attribute description: [You are one with the blade, your body is perfectly suited to wield the blade, and you are graced with an otherworldly talent for the sword.]
****
Interesting...
As I picked up a few mentions of my name, I temporarily turned my focus away from his runes and back to the conversation.
Though there wasn't really much to focus on.
Sunny's friend hadn't spoken a word, yet Sunny and Nephis continued to talk with him, engaging in conversation with someone who hadn't issued a sound.
It was odd and rather disorienting.
I could make out what Neph and Sunny were saying, but there were gaps in the conversation that confused me. Occasionally, there would be a rather large shift in the conversation that would send me reeling, my mind lacking the context to keep pace with the flow of the dialogue.
Giving up completely, I stopped trying to listen and understand what was going on.
Instead, I continued to read their runes, gathering more information, turning my attention to the next one.
***
Attribute: [One who Stood at the peak]
Attribute description: [You have the demeanor of a true transcendent being. Your gait and posture radiate a quiet sense of authority.]
***
The description surprised me a little.
Transcendent...?
It was the first time that I had seen the spell describing someone with that word.
More importantly, the name of the attribute confused me.
Stood... not stand?
Why was it in the past tense?
I grew contemplative.
"... Cassia.... a... ght.... ay..."
Words blurred together with the sound of sizzling and the crackling of the fire pit.
My focus was solely on the text.
I continued reading, in an attempt to piece together some kind of profile, to glean insight into their capabilities.
From what I've seen, they honestly seemed to be stronger than Nephis, although I had no idea to what extent.
At that, bitter thoughts wormed their way through my mind.
Everyone here seemed so strong, so... useful.
They all possessed blessings or the legacies of something powerful, and then there was me.
A blind girl surrounded by people seemingly destined for greatness.
I felt useless.
If Nephis hadn't saved me
If Sunny hadn't found us,
If the spell had dropped me off in a different place,
I would've died, abandoned and forgotten.
I didn't need eyes to see that simple truth.
Even if I was a burden,
even though disgust constantly gnawed at my conscious,
I don't want to die…
Suddenly, though, I felt a warm touch on my hand, pulling me from my grim thoughts.
It was soft yet rough in some places.
A little surprised, an embarrassed smile worming itself on my face, as I blurted out:
"Sorry, uh... What's going on? I was zoning out."
With my attention now fully on the current situation, I listened intently, probing the area with my senses in a desperate bid to comprehend what was going on.
I heard someone, Sunny, take in a deep, startled breath, across from me.
Next to me, I could feel Nephis shift rigidly, as if caught off guard.
A hand was currently grasping mine, tugging on it tenderly as it flipped my hand over, palm side up.
I flinched at the unexpected development.
Then, with what felt like extreme carefulness, a finger traced a line across my open palm.
Slowly and deliberately, the line curved, forming a letter.
H
And then another
e
followed by another
l
The finger continued to glide gracefully across my palm, my brain using the tactile sensations to construct a word.
A greeting.
Hello
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[Audun's POV]
Ignoring the looks of the other two, I focused on the girl in front of me, carefully tracing letters on the palm of her hand.
What I was doing was an adaptation of tactile sign language.
Tactile sign language is a method of communication that was used by people who had both vision and hearing impairments.
It involved placing hands on the signers hands to feel the movements and shapes of signs, allowing this normally very visual form of communication to be used with touch instead.
It's normally employed by people who learned ASL or another form of sign language before losing their vision.
I used to employ this form of communication quite often whenever I trained my sixth sense, so I had a pretty good grasp of it.
I thought it'd work in Cassia's case, as she had lost her vision quite recently, and still probably had a clear mental image of the alphabet.
My finger continued to trace out more letters, controlled and patient, an effort to clearly convey my dialogue.
Cassia still looked a bit flustered about the whole situation, though, she acted more in a baffled and confused manner than overwhelmed.
The process took longer than I thought, but she was surprisingly patient, waiting as I finished diligently scrawling letters on her delicate hand.
I
Can't
Speak
Because
Of
My
Flaw
Her expression changed slightly, understanding replacing the original confusion.
A small smile spread across her face, though in a way it seemed a bit unnatural.
"I see..."
She paused, as if wanting to say something, but ultimately she held back.
The room grew silent once more.
Nephis stayed quiet, her expression remaining pretty much the same.
Cassia chose not to say anything, but her eyes betrayed a hint of a solemn sadness.
I, in my defense, lacked the ability to really say anything, and just remained by Cassia's side, so I wouldn't have to get up if I needed to 'say' something to her.
That left Sunny with the burden of trying to revive the conversation.
And unfortunately, he wasn't really much of a social butterfly either.
Honestly, though, I don't think anybody would've been able to resuscitate our will to converse.
In this room were two people who were genuinely socially inept, a blind girl who was lost in more ways than one, and slum rat slim shady.
Yeah, I think it's over.
Eventually, the fatigue caught up with the rest of the group, sleep beckoning them to fall into its embrace.
I loaned the three my house as they slept, giving them whatever I had lying around, and quietly slipped out when I confirmed they were asleep.
Today had been chaotic to say the least.
It was a massive departure from my once solitary lifestyle, and I wasn't sure if I had even fully processed the change.
I was still reeling from the shock of finding a single person, and now, not even a day later, there were now three people resting within the confines of my home.
Not to mention, my flaw was proving to be a rather massive issue.
The Perfect Harmony I had achieved between body and mind was disrupted by this fucking parasite whenever it detected the presence of another human being.
It felt like buying an expensive sports car, but every single time you try and drive it, the tank is completely empty.
This isn't gonna fly.
There had to be some ways around it, right?
Something?
Anything?
I sighed.
There was still a residual stench of vomit in the air, not to mention, the massive supply bag I had brought back was still lying on the ground where I had left it.
As a sword seeker, my body had already stepped into the realm of a true superhuman, and with three people inside the house, I decided that it'd be a better idea to just stay up another night and focus on processing all the materials.
So, as the midnight sky gave way to the white dawn of tomorrow, I sat in my yard, digging through the gargantuan sack of nightmare creature meat and body parts, burning away and purifying the air with my radiant purple aura.
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[The next day]
When I finished all the yard work, the sun had just risen, the sea beginning its hasty retreat.
It was my second night without sleep, and I could feel a bit of fatigue settling deep within my bones.
I took in a deep breath, the air smelling heavily of the sea.
Smiling a bit, I was happy to have finally gotten rid of the embarrassing smell of my stomach acid.
The surrounding area was completely quiet, the eerie lack of wind, rain, or anything dangerous being one of the reasons why I had settled down here.
Yawning, I gathered all the processed nightmare creature parts, slipping back inside the house, doing a quick scan of the interior.
Nephis, Sunny, and Cassia were still asleep, sprawled all over the place.
Nephis was still and unmoving, her breathing steady, yet rigid, sleeping as stiff as a board.
Sunny was sleeping in a fetal position wrapped up in his fur blanket with a peaceful expression.
Cassia had buried herself underneath her covers, her pale blond hair spilling out from within.
Smirking, I surpressed my presence as much as I could and walked quietly, trying not to disturb their rest.
They deserved a bit of rest, especially Cassia and Nephis who had spent a night out in the elements.
Finishing my chores quickly, I lit the fire pit and began making a cozy brekfast.
Before long, the pleasent smell of food began to filter through the air, the sounds of the fire crackling cutting thorugh the silence.
Nephis was the first to wake, followed by Sunny, the two plopping down next to me as they began to talk.
Rubbing his eyes, Sunny yawned quietly.
"So, what's the next order of business?"
Nephis narrowed her eyes in thought.
"I'm honestly not too sure."
She looked towards me.
"How much of this place have you explored?"
Without setting down my plate of food, the [Thought Quill] manifested above me and began moving.
A bit of silver light shone from my figure as I activated the Star of Memory.
The quill danced, drawing fluid arcs and rigid lines in bright purple.
After a few seconds, a 3x3 map of the places I had explored floated in the air beside me.
Pointing to the rightmost side, I explained:
That's where we are now.
As I continued on, Nephis and Sunny listened, or in this case read, intently.
The mountains near the bottom edge of the map are the Hollow Mountains, and it's north of where we are currently.
Nephis' eyes widened at the mention of the Hollow Mountains, her mouth slightly ajar in realization.
There isn't much towards the south or the east, just a few entrances to the labryinth.
I pointed at the blank area of the map, west of where we currently were.
However, before the [Thought Quill] could begin to move, Cassia shot out of her pile of blankets.
She was breathing heavily and her eyes were wide open, a myriad of emotions plastered on her face.
All three of us looked at her with concern, some of us hiding it better than others *Cough.. Sunny... Cough*.
"You ok?" Nephis asked, frowning slightly.
The numerous emotions all homogenized into one: excitement.
She turned to us with a smile and with a giddy voice she said:
"I had a vision!"
Sunny and I shared a strange look as Nephis continued to question Cassia.
"People... I saw castle full of people!"
Still giddy and with a surprising amount of confidence considering her disability, she pointed her finger towards my spice cabinet.
But that direction...
West.
That's not great.
Cassia continued:
"I dreamt of this vast ruined city made of weathered stone. Surrounding it were these tall imposing walls. In the center of the city, there was this beautiful castle on a hill. Well, there were monsters wandering the streets of the city, but there weren't any in the castle, instead it was full of people!"
Sunny looked a little skeptical still, while Nephis still wore that aloof expression.
A smile bloomed brilliantly on Cassia's doll like features.
"Not to mention, in my vision I saw Sunny and Neph leading me through the gates of the castle!"
She beamed with pure unadulterated joy.
"That means we'll make it there!!"
Fuck
While Nephis' expression remained even, I caught a slight glimmer in her gray eyes.
No no no
Sunny's skepticism began to fade, Cassia's confidence and umbridled joy seemingly instilling something within him, hope.
[One who Stood at the Peak] burst into full affect, slightly calming my turbulent mind.
West of here were territories swarming with abominations, and when I say swarms I really mean Swarms.
Most of the abominations there weren't fit for sleepers of their level, and while I could probably manage the trip, I'm not sure if they could.
Cassia, as much as I didn't want to admit it, was a liability.
Sunny's inexperience with the dream realm, and combat in general, was rather aparent.
Nephis might be able to handle herself, but even she had human limits.
The three turned towards me.
Nephis, in slight anticipation.
Sunny, with a bit of hope.
And Cassia, with the brightest smile I had ever seen plastered on her delicate face.
It was like seeing farmers getting blessed with rain after a drought.
I gulped.
I have to tell them.
I have to tell them the truth.
The thought of their disapointment, their dejection after hearing the reality of the situation, weighed heavily on my mind.
Even with my traits going at full force, I just couldn't bring myself to say the it.
Their eyes bore into me, deeper than any sword.
The unutterable truth remained firmly chained in my mind.
The [Thought Quill] moved.
Not writing what they needed to hear,
but what they wanted to hear.
A lie
A small, perfect smile etched itself onto my flawless poker face.
Glittering purple letters were ettched into the air, Sunny, and even Nephis', expressions lighting up.
It should be fine if we go west.
'Right?'
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(A/N: This was lwk a hard asf chapter to write, the hardest to date ykyk
I've been getting more comfortable writing longer chapters, but for some reason, my spell check software only corrects passages shorter than 2000 words, so if you guys find any mistakes in the later half of the chapter shoot me a paragraph comment.
2500 words is diabolical work for me, and since I spent most of the day just fact checking my timeline, it ended up taking way longer than I originally said ;-;
I think I did pretty good this time, but I'll let you guys be the judge of that!
Hope y'all enjoyed, and if you can, drop a review and maybe some powerstones ykyk :/
I'll see you guys later tonight, and sorry for the wait!)