„Welcome back," Ray's newest 'roommate' greeted him playfully as soon as Ray appeared in his Soul Sea. The figure barely looked up, before directing its gaze back down towards the tome in its grasp.
Ray rolled his eyes at the greeting. "Hey. I see you still haven't left….
After those words, he turned his gaze towards the tome in the figure's hands. His eyebrows knitted together, his expression frowning deeply upon recognizing what it actually was.
"Wait… you have access to the other tomes? Does that mean I have access to them?" Ray asked with a slightly tilted head and a somewhat hopeful expression.
The figure looked up again, its expression barely visible under the veil covering its head. For a moment there was only silence between the two, before… it threw its head back, laughing hysterically, out loud.
"HAHAHA!"
The booming, mocking laughter echoed through the vast, quiet expanse of Ray's soul.
"Okay okay, cut it out," Ray replied, his fleeting hope quickly souring into familiar irritation.
After another moment, the figure's laughter subsided into quiet chuckles. It calmed down and looked at him with a meaningful, almost pitying look before replying. "Access? In a manner of speaking. I can perceive anything you technically have access to, the potential paths laid out by your Legacy."
It held up the tome it was reading, its cover dark and featureless – not fitting to any of the ones Ray had seen before. It seemed even the tome kept it's secret well hidden. "But you can't use them. You can't even open them. You are neither strong enough nor prepared for what they contain. You simply do not yet understand how dangerous knowledge can be."
The answer, though frustrating, was also illuminating. It led Ray to a logical conclusion. If strength and preparation were the requirements, then the path forward was clear. He would either need to ascend to the next Rank to access the second tome, or perhaps he could achieve it by acquiring another Demon Core.
He was about to ask the figure for confirmation, to see which path was correct, but he ultimately stopped himself. He could already imagine the cryptic, headache-inducing answer he would receive - in the unlikely case that it would even give him a straight one. It wasn't worth the effort.
Realizing that his mind wouldn't be able to find any real rest today either, the only logical option left was to be productive. He resolved to continue his studies in the Oblivion tome.
After his breakthrough with the Veil, the dense, cryptic runes had become far more accessible. So much easier, in fact, that he could now read the tome nearly like a normal book, the meaning of the runes flowing directly into his understanding.
Nevertheless, the book was large and impossibly dense. It wasn't as if he could learn and use everything in it purely from reading. True mastery required a three-step process: he would need to read the concepts, deeply understand their implications, and then discover the right way to apply them in practice.
The creation of the Veil had been more of a fluke - or a miracle, if one wanted to be generous. It was a desperate act of intuition, a success most likely brought forth by the precarious, life-or-death situation they were in at that time. He couldn't rely on such miracles. He needed to build his foundation, one rune at a time.
So for the remainder of the sleepless night, Ray did what he deemed most efficient, continuing with the tome.
Like the figure had said, Knowledge can be truly dangerous, but at the same time, Knowledge could also become the greatest weapon. Humanity was at the top of the food chain for the longest time – well, until the Spell descended and put them at the very bottom. Now, after a few decades of hard work and countless sacrifices, they had established themselves at a reasonable point, nowhere near the top, but also far from the bottom they were at before.
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The next morning, Ray walked out of his hut again, with now even more visible dark circles under his eyes.
The word "morning" didn't fit quite though. Not even the dawn was here yet, the oppressive darkness still holding its reign, but Ray couldn't sit still in his small shelter any longer. Before, reading the tome and trying to decipher it was just one of his normal activities. Now, it seemed more like a chore than anything. The nightly ordeal in his Soul Sea had soured the experience.
Walking through the quiet camp, with the immense shadow of the crimson spire still cast over the Dark City, he eventually arrived at their main building. He was just hoping to fetch something to eat real quick.
Luckily – or unluckily – the only other person there was their 'charismatic' leader, Nephis. She stood near the hearth, the low firelight illuminating her silver hair.
Since their talk that night with Cassie, there had always been a certain tension between them. For the mission they had just completed, Ray had consciously put that feeling aside, knowing that such animosity would just hinder them unnecessarily.
He must have stood there longer than he thought, because Nephis eventually turned, her silver eyes meeting his across the dim room. She noticed him standing silently in the entrance, looking at him for a moment, also in silence, before gesturing with her head towards the pot she was tending.
She was preparing a light breakfast, most likely to get just enough energy for a morning training session. Ray understood her intention, both for the food and the unspoken invitation. It was a clear, if subtle, attempt to bring their companionship back to at least neutral ground.
After a short thought, he gave a slight nod and entered. He couldn't deny that her behavior seemed more mature than his. She was focused on their unity, seeing how they were still trapped in this hellish realm that no one in the waking world even knew about.
He sat down at one of the nearby tables, the scraping of the chair legs loud in the otherwise quiet hall, waiting for her to finish. The silence between them seemed to subtly change. It wasn't necessarily hostile or tense anymore, but it was still slightly awkward.
Neph was never a really outspoken person, and while Ray had been similar in the waking world, he had long ago accepted that he could not break through to her reserved nature. That was something he had already noticed back in the Awakened Academy. The only thing that seemed to actually interest the silver-haired girl was her swordsmanship. Well, now Cassie could probably also be counted among those interests. And Ray was more or less sure that Sunny also had a place there, maybe a smaller one, but who was he to meddle in their relationships? He had his own problems to care about.
While his thoughts drifted, he couldn't help but remember one of his other friends, Kai, the auburn-haired fairy tale prince. It had been quite some time since they had seen each other. Though, that seemed almost coincidental, as Ray had learned from Aiko that Kai almost always came to visit just a few days after he left, having a seemingly similar reaction to his own.
He was pulled from his thoughts when a pleasant aroma tickled his nose. Nephis placed a simple wooden bowl of steaming porridge in front of him. The food was ready.
He thanked her quietly and both ate more or less in silence. The food was good, nourishing, but as expected, a bit bland. Spices were a luxury they rarely had.
When Ray was done and had just put away his empty bowl, Nephis finally spoke, her voice calm and even.
"Spar with me."
It wasn't a question, but it wasn't quite a command either. "Like we used to," she added, a subtle reference to the time they had spent training and teaching each other, long before their recent tensions.
Ray considered it for a moment, then shrugged. Having a sparring partner as skilled as her was certainly better than training alone. So... why not?