When Lumian climbed down from the great skeleton of the sea monster, Asael was already waiting for him with a bored expression.
"What did you see?"
"A lot," he replied with a fake smile on his face. "First of all, from this point onward, the coral is gray and lifeless, as if something had been draining it for many years. There are also remains of scavengers and centurions. Finally, there's a huge hill made of ash, and at its peak an enormous tree—huge, and I mean it seriously, it was enormous."
Asael nodded.
"I suppose we'll move toward the tree."
"Yes, although—" Lumian paused.
"Asael, what I'm about to tell you is important. You have to be careful with the tree. It's a nightmare creature that alters your mind, making you think it's benevolent, majestic, and that kind of thing."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, it tried to control me but failed," Lumian explained, without revealing that it had actually been his defect that crushed the influence of the tree.
"Alright," Asael smiled, not suspecting Lumian—or even if he did, he didn't really care. They had spent nearly two full months together since they met at the academy.
Lumian decided to lead the way; the coral labyrinth was dead and there were no signs of life.
Lumian was certain it was the work of the tree or of the ancient demon that guarded the tree like a jealous and enchanted beast.
Now that Lumian remembered, there was a way to kill the demon without fighting directly, and he had the necessary materials to achieve it.
He only needed an Echo to reach the tree; if they did that, the battle would be won.
Asael and Lumian continued advancing, slowly exploring the area until the sun was at its highest point. That was when Lumian smelled it.
It was the same acrid, metallic scent that the shell centurions had.
"Asael, there's a shell-type centurion approaching this direction," he reported.
Asael smiled.
"Perfect. Finally some action, let's kill it," he said, striking his fist against his open palm.
Lumian looked toward the direction where the centurion was approaching from and then at the ash hill where the soul tree and the shell demon's habitat rose.
"Alright," Lumian said.
It didn't take the duo long to locate and kill the awakened monster.
Asael delivered the final blow with his sword, obtaining the core for himself. His face lit up.
"Lumian, guess, guess!" the teenager's voice sounded like that of an excited child with his favorite toy.
"What?" he asked.
"I obtained an Echo," he said.
"Oh, wow," Lumian said, pretending to look surprised and pleased. He didn't expect Asael to obtain an Echo from killing the centurion.
Originally, he was going to use part of the centurion's corpse to trick the demon and reach the soul tree, and then ignite the demon by mixing the glands he had extracted from the centipedes and stored in clay jars.
Although crude, they served their purpose.
Without waiting any longer, Asael summoned his Echo. In a shower of sparks, the Echo of the silent and indifferent shell centurion formed.
Asael played with the Echo, asking it to crouch and then roll like a cat. Lumian rolled his eyes at this.
"It's fun," Asael said under Lumian's stare.
Finally, he dismissed the Echo back to his soul sea.
Since they had been out for a long time, Lumian decided to return to the bone crest.
When they returned, the sun was beginning to set. Lumian prepared the centurion meat he had taken after killing the monster.
"So, what's the plan?" Asael asked.
"Uhm. Well, it involves your Echo and a demon," he explained.
Asael rolled his eyes.
"Are you serious?"
"I am. On that ash hill, there's a monster that acts as its guardian. Do you think something like that wouldn't have protection?" he asked.
Asael shook his head.
"Exactly. If it's what I smell, then at least it's a demon. I was thinking of using the centurion's remains to make a suit to distract it long enough to climb the tree," Lumian explained.
"And after that? Wait a moment…" Asael noticed something; his eyes fell on the two clay bottles with the highly durable flaming liquid.
"Tell me something—are you an oracle?" he asked.
"No, I don't have that attribute. Let's just say I'm superstitious and terrible at imagining horrible things and being unprepared. When I discovered what the centipedes spat was flammable, I thought I might use it someday in a complicated situation," Lumian explained.
Of course, part of what he said was true and part a lie; he knew about the demon because he knew the novel and what was needed to leave the Forgotten Shore—of course, also about what had really happened in this place and the strongest monster, which was a great titan.
Asael looked at Lumian for a few seconds, not knowing what to think, but finally accepted it.
"Fine, but it's not nice to keep so many secrets," he said, a little annoyed.
"Yeah," Lumian said.
"But anyway. We'll use your Echo to distract the demon until we reach the tree, then you'll disperse your Echo and we'll wait for night."
"Why night?"
"Do you want to fight a demon that is two ranks above you?" he asked.
Asael shook his head; even someone who enjoyed battling strong Beasts knew the limits of his strength, and currently, as a Sleeper, he could not fight an Awakened demon.
Maybe a Fallen one, but not a demon.
"We'll start tomorrow. When the dark sea recedes. If we're lucky, your Echo won't be discovered too quickly."