Ash began to explore the Burial Mound out of boredom. The mound was large, rising about three hundred meters above the ground, such that during the night, the mound became an island in the middle of the sea.
Ash searched among the roots and ashes but didn't find any transcendent soul shards, which was a shame.
The Carapace Centurions offered beast soul cores to the Carapace Demon, which accepted them. If this had continued for thousands of years, there would be hundreds of transcendent fragments. However, despite his search, he found none.
Frowning, Ash kept searching for a while longer without success.
Looking toward the sky, he watched as one of the needle messengers approached, staying away from the Terror's influence.
Ash walked to the western part of the Burial Mound, seeing the enormous crater that stretched for hundreds and hundreds of kilometers. He easily calculated that the Forgotten Shore was about the size of China and Russia combined, and that was just an estimate of its size.
'I wonder if...'
Ash closed his eyes, searching for any Nightmare Seeds. Slowly, his eyes opened wide. A smile spread across his face.
He had discovered another aspect of his ability. Not only could he locate people, but it was everything. If he knew something and thought about that something, his ability would detect it within seconds.
He could feel the Nightmare Seeds, each one incredibly far away. There were dozens of them, of different ranks.
One that was much more intense was in the center of that massive crater. If he had to guess, it should be a fourth-class seed, one destined to turn any Awakened directly into a Supreme if they challenged it.
For a moment, Ash thought about going and challenging the seed, but then he stopped. These were not his thoughts.
Turning his face, he observed the Terror still pushing against his mental defenses to make him make two decisions.
The first was to fall under the effect of its power, and the second was to drive him out of its territory by influencing his thoughts.
"It'll take more than that to make me back down, bastard," he murmured with disdain.
Returning to where the others were, he decided to wake them.
Bending down, he tapped Sunny's head a little. Sunny stirred before opening his eyes, somewhat confused.
"What's wrong?" the boy asked.
"I need you to see this."
"A threat?"
"No. But it's necessary for you to see it."
Due to the movement, Changing Star opened her eyes, asking a silent question.
"It's those things from the other time," Ash said, pausing. "You know, what came after we killed the Centurion. However, they're not approaching; they just fly in the distance."
Nephis stood up in silence.
Ash led Sunny and Nephis to an area where they could clearly see the black dot in the sky, the beast that refused to approach where they were.
"How long has it been flying?"
"About ten minutes. But it's not coming closer," Ash said, watching as the black dot approached before rising and moving away again.
Nephis looked at the winged creature before speaking.
"Last time, it didn't seem very interested in hunting live prey. Maybe it mainly feeds on carrion, and that's why it was only interested in the Carapace Demon's corpse."
After she said that, they heard footsteps and saw that it was Cassie.
"What if we're too weak and small to satisfy it? After all, it never came for the bodies of the scavengers we had killed. As if eating mere beasts was beneath it," she offered.
"That time, it came for the Centurion's flesh. But it also took a few scavenger corpses before leaving. So it would be too optimistic to think this abomination wouldn't try to devour us if given the chance."
Nephis reflected for a moment before speaking.
"You're right. The best thing is to stay away from the Carapace Demon for now and hide when it decides to land."
Ash nodded, as did the rest, before looking at Cassie.
"Cassie, can I borrow your staff?"
Cassie blinked.
"Why?"
"I want to look for something. And it would take me too long because of the ashes."
"What exactly are you looking for?" asked Nephis.
"Soul shards. We saw how the Centurion brought soul shards to the Carapace Demon, and since they can't consume them, I think they must be hidden somewhere around here. So I'm going to look for them to pass the time."
"Alright," said Cassie, transferring the memory.
"Thanks. Oh, and I need you to see this. It's on the other side of this place," Ash said, walking toward where he had been observing the crater earlier.
The three followed Ash for a few minutes until they reached the western side, letting them see the end of their path due to the enormous titanic crater.
At that moment, the sun began to descend, and they watched as the dark sea emerged from the crater, beginning to spread across the entire Forgotten Shore.
...
Once the four had returned, they went back to the base of the tree, where Ash sat on one of the branches protruding from the ground.
"It doesn't make sense, it just doesn't," Cassie murmured worriedly. "How can it be?"
"There must be another place that rises above sea level over there."
Sunny, who seemed equally angry or annoyed, nodded.
"No, there's no other elevation. It's just that crater stretching as far as the eye can see. It extends everywhere except the East," he explained.
"Ash, can't you tell if there's another path?"
"Only through the crater and the East. But if we take the East, it would take us months to go around the crater and reach the castle."
Hearing their guide's words, the three felt somewhat frustrated.
Finally, after a few seconds, Nephis broke the silence.
"Let's try to think of something tomorrow. In the worst... the worst case, we'll have to go around all of this."
Ash, as always, stood guard, fighting against the Terror's influence in its brainwashing.
Walking to the Carapace Demon's corpse, he summoned the rope and measured its body, studying its carcass to see what kind of sturdy boat he could create.
After a few hours, he changed guard duty and went to sleep until the next morning.
The next morning, the atmosphere was gloomy. No one seemed to want to talk or do anything, staring aimlessly at the ground or the leaves of the great tree.
Finally, the one who broke the silence was Nephis, who decided to climb to the top of the tree for a better view.
After Changing Star left, Ash stood up, summoning his sword.
"Want to train with me, Sunny?"
"Sure, why not."
...
The duo moved away from Cassie enough not to hurt her and to have room to move.
Ash analyzed Sunny's posture, looking for an opening. Although he was still far from being a master of sword combat, it was clear he was no novice. The same went for himself.
"The rules are simple," said Ash.
"If your enemy falls to the ground, you win."
Sunny nodded, an expression full of seriousness adorning his face as his shadow wrapped around his body, strengthening him.
"Alright, let's begin."
Neither of them moved, analyzing their opponent.
Ash decided to move first.
Running forward, he launched a diagonal slash, which Sunny blocked with his sword, exerting pressure to match Ash's strength.
Both struggled, sparks flying from their swords.
Stepping back, Ash began to launch quick, precise cuts against his opponent, who blocked them with difficulty.
Sunny swung the Midnight Fragment against Ash, who stopped the sword with his forearm. The fabric of his armor completely blocked the attack and any damage to his hand.
Sunny's eyes widened, then he positioned his sword to block a kick that sent him stumbling back.
"Where did you get that armor?"
"From my first nightmare, where else?" he replied, lunging into the attack again.
The battle continued for about half an hour or so until both were tired, ending up exhausted.
"I win," said Ash in a flat tone.
"You're wrong, I did."
"Did you fall first?"
"Yes."
"Then I win," said Ash, closing his eyes, then standing up.
"I'm going to sleep for a while." Murmuring that, Ash headed to the camp where he simply fell into a deep sleep.
When he woke up, a few hours had passed.
When he came out, the sun was setting. He looked around for a moment at the other three.
Cassie, Nephis, and Sunny were eating the soul fruits of the Terror.
Ash approached with an indifferent face.
Nephis looked up, giving him a relaxed smile.
"Hi."