The next day wasn't very welcoming for Epsilon. Upon awakening, he was immediately bombarded with memories of being burned alive, unwillingly recalling the feeling as he felt his own flesh being melted away with the scent of fire and ash being forced up his nose.
Naturally it was tormenting, and the panicked scream he let out was a testament to that. Cassius instantly woke up in a panic, while Sylas was a little slower to react. He quickly scanned the room for danger, but all he saw was Epsilon panting heavily. Galahad slept soundly like a sloth though, and Bob was even more quiet, resting within the depths of Epsilons soul.
Cassius asked showing concern,
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah! I'm fine. I just remembered something ugly."
Getting up out of bed, he resummoned the shirt of his garment memory, and then his scholars tunic on top of it. Instantly he felt whatever emotions that clouded his thinking before, quickly disappear.
'I didn't notice it before, but this armour probably has an enchantment that affects my mind.'
Then turning towards the door, he said,
"I think... I'm gonna go now. I'll see you all later."
**
A little while after, he and Ki Song were walking through the underground caverns already.
They had navigated and mapped out most of the cities structure, so they already knew mostly where everything was. In the centre was the daunting stone castle that only he and Bob could remember. A little west of that was the city square, and a bit further away was the inn that they all decided to settle inside.
North of the stone castle, was the rundown blacksmith that Anvil currently occupied, and even further away then that, was the stone doors that stood as their last hope for escape.
"Hey, are you sure anvil is even awake?"
"No not really, but he just seems like the kind of guy to be awake before everyone else."
After that, a strange silence made the air sit still. They both glanced away, pretending to find something interesting to look at, their thoughts scrambling for words that wouldn't come. The air felt heavier with each passing second, and every small sound, the shuffle of feet and the slightest of breath, seemed impossibly loud.
It was a bit awkward, as they hadn't had the time to talk alone since they parted ways. Ever since he returned, he had been training with Sylas, or being uselessly bothered by Galahad.
'Is leaving those two alone a good idea?'
Probably not, but what was the worst that could happen?
Shaking those thoughts out of his head, he scrambled in his mind for anything he could talk about with her. It was then that he remembered a question he never got the chance to ask.
"Can I ask you something? Its about your memories."
Giving him a curious glance, she replied,
"Yeah, shoot."
"I thought you'd have a lot more since you were a legacy, but you have even less then I expected. Is it because..?"
Her smile faded like sunlight behind clouds. The warmth in her eyes turned to quiet distance. She pondered the question for a while, and in that time, Epsilon quickly regretted asking.
"I'm sorry, that was inconsiderate of me."
"No it's fine. You already know my secret anyway."
Taking in a deep breathe, she continued,
"I was only infected by the nightmare spell after mother had died. Since I couldn't go to the dream realm, those bastards took it upon themselves to run everything without my involvement."
Epsilon knew everything right up to Song Ji Won's death. What happened after though, was fresh news for him.
"Even when I became a sleeper, none of them ever got back to me. It was like I didn't exist in their eyes, and since the clan was functioning just fine without me, they didn't see a reason to take me in either. While I did learn a thing or two about the sword from tutors and the such, I didn't get to enjoy any of the benefits that other legacies did."
In just a day, Ki Song was completely phased out of the clan. The sole thing that connected her to the otherworld was her mother, and now with no presence there, she had no way to protect her rightful seat at Clan Song.
"Even the will that my mother had written to set me to inherit everything, was completely ignored. The government should've done something, but.. those scumbags bribed them."
Of course, the government that immortal flame had setup wasn't without its own flaws either. Although he had instilled people he trusted in high places, their reach wasn't omniscient, and in the dream realm even less so.
"It's not like they could've done anything anyway, they don't even have enough awakened to pressure them. Their hands are already full just dealing with the waking world as it is, as long as the citadel is protected in the dream realm, why should they care who owns it?"
She paused for a second, contemplating something. This time, she seemed to grow a little more hopeful before continuing,
"The only one who helped me after that time, was Uncle Orie. He's the one who gave me these memories."
'Uncle.. Orie?'
Epsilon thought about that name patiently for a second, then tied it back with another that sounded eerily similar.
"Awakened Orum? That teacher??"
She silently nodded.
"Him and mother were friends back in the day. He still owed her a debt, but she died before he could repay it. Now he's paying it back by helping me instead."
So in a way, he kind of had him to thank for letting them survive back then too.
'Still though, the government doing nothing just doesn't sound right. There has to be someone pulling the strings in there somehow.'
It was even a possibility that they were banking on Ki Song perishing in the dream realm. If she were to survive, she'd return to take back what was rightfully hers.
"Anyhow, that's enough about me. Let me hear more about you? How did you and Emma get together exactly? How did you two first meet?"
Epsilons face flushed pink as he was overcome by sudden embarrassment.
'What the heck!? Where's this coming from??'
When he tried to push the conversation elsewhere though, Ki Song just gave him a mean glare before stomping on his foot.
"Well... when we first met.."
As the words came out of his mouth however, they began to trail off into unintelligible nonsense, slowly becoming less and less understandable as he spoke. Obviously, the story wasn't one he was keen on sharing. It was a sensitive tale that only Nero knew, aside from the lucky lady herself.
"Don't do this to me I told you all my secrets!"
While racking his mind to come up with an excuse, suddenly appearing before them was a workshop. Its stone walls weathered by years of labour and heat, with a furnace at the front, filled blackened wood that was in the process of decay. There was an anvil with rows of hanging shields that lined a wall like silent sentinels, and the smell of iron and ash lingered around the barrels and tools scattered by the door.
Inside, Epsilon could faintly hear the sound of metal colliding.
"Oh! Would you look at that? We're here already! And he seems to be awake too."