No one opposed the idea since it made logical sense. Although Nephis glanced in Sunny's direction with a slightly guarded look on her face.
Sunny went first.
After him came Cassie and then Yoru.
"Alright. My turn."
Yoru cleared his throat and shifted slightly in his chair.
"I can summon things I've previously granted. That's why I'm wearing these clothes. And why I'm sitting in this very comfortable chair.
I also have an attribute which makes me cherish wishes - can't explain it any better than that. And another attribute that makes me lucky I guess? Though I'm seriously starting to doubt that."
Sunny snorted.
"What else…" Yoru hummed. "Ah. Right. I have one actual Memory. It's just a garment though. I tired it in the academy but... Its passive effects seem rather... daunting."
The silence that followed was expectant, implying for him to continue.
Yoru sighed.
"I feel a strong bloodlust when I wear it. Not enough to control me, but enough to… nudge my thoughts in unpleasant directions."
Cassie's fingers tightened in her lap.
"Memories like that are usually powerful," Nephis said evenly.
"What tier and rank?"
"It's an Awakened memory of the sixth tier."
They all shared some visible reaction to that news. Cassie's eyes widened. Sunny froze. Even Nephis' expression shifted slightly. It seemed that they were all re-evaluating their opinions of him.
Sunny stared at him.
"You, killed a terror?"
Yoru blinked and scratched his cheek
"Oh. That?"
"Well, it dared to kill me first and that pissed me off, so I - being a miracle and all, denied death, returned with a fresh soul and killed it back."
Another long silence followed Yoru's bizarre answer.
Sunny let out a long sigh and shook his head.
"...Of course."
Yoru, sensing the shift, leaned back in his chair with a faint smile.
"I'd love to go on but that's enough about me. What about you Nephis?"
Nephis studied him anew with a calculating gaze but after a short pause, she shrugged and nodded.
"My attributes give me an affinity to light and fire, as well as a strong affiliation to divinity. I have two Memories: a rope and a sword. The rope is very sturdy and can change its length. The sword is very sharp and can protect its wielder against souls attacks, to a certain extent. My Ability… can be used to heal."
Sunny eyes lit up at this.
"You're a Healer? That's great! Having a Healer among us is incredible luck!"
Cassie nodded and smiled.
"Neph is also an amazing fighter! You should have seen her dealing with those scavengers. Well… I also did not actually see it. But it sounded very scary."
"So, you're a healer huh? Nephis... would you be a dear and, you know..."
Yoru raised his remaining arm and gestured toward the stump where the other used to be, batting his eyes in an exaggerated manner, eliciting a disgusted scowl from Sunny.
Nephis hesitated and gave him a long stare. After a few moments she sighed and made her way over to him.
Placing both hands on his shoulder, she closed her eyes and a soft radiance bloomed beneath her palms.
Almost immediately, Yoru felt rejuvenation surge through him, flooding toward his ruined arm. The excruciating pain that had plagued him for so long vanished, replaced by an overwhelming sense of comfort. Warmth washed over his body, gentle and cleansing, as though he were being immersed in liquid sunlight. Every trace of agony was erased.
He watched in stunned silence as his bones reformed seamlessly. Flesh followed, weaving itself naturally into place. Muscle, tendon, skin - all restored as though the injury had never existed at all.
Yoru felt incredible.
However, that feeling shattered the moment he looked at Nephis.
Her teeth were clenched tightly as the radiance intensified, her face twisted into a pained grimace. Light danced wildly in her grey eyes, burning like twin white sparks. Colour drained from her skin as she endured the punishment of her Aspect, her body trembling under the strain.
Her skin quickly turned pale as she endured the agony, wincing with each passing moment. and a thin sheen of sweat appeared across her brow.
It was obvious she was experiencing unbearable torment... Yet she faced the pain anyways.
The warmth inside Yoru suddenly felt undeserved.
How could he possibly feel happy, knowing what it cost her?
Soon, the radiance dimmed and Nephis removed her trembling hands.
Strength returned in a rush.
He flexed his fingers slowly, reverently, staring at his restored arm as though it might vanish if he looked away. Emotions such as gratitude, guilt and awe swelled in his chest, much too tangled to separate.
After a while, he said the only words that made sense at the time.
"…Thank you, Nephis."
She spared him a brief nod and weakly replied:
"If we want to survive this place, I will need your arm to ensure that we do."
Yoru smiled and nodded.
That was a good thing. But why did it sound so dehumanising?
***
The rest of that evening was spent discussing their next steps.
Cassie had divulged the contents of her vision to Yoru and Sunny: how she saw the bright castle being manned by what looked to be awakened guards and monsters roaming through the streets of a surrounding city. She also mentioned that Sunny had been the one to lead her through the gates of the Castle.
Yoru noted that he was absent in the vision and hoped that that was just because he chose not to enter, rather than meeting an untimely end before having reached their destination.
He also gleamed some new information.
It was the fact that Cassie had received her vision later than she was originally supposed to.
'That explains why they weren't here. But it also puts us in a dangerous spot.'
What if every one of her visions arrived subsequently later than they were supposed to? Situations they were supposed to have foresight on wouldn't be foreseen resulting in gods knew what.
Sure, Yoru could substitute as their oracle since he had foresight on events that were detailed in the novel, but now that it was his life, he had to be concerned with even the minor stuff that was not covered in the novel.
While Yoru mulled this over, Sunny explained what he had seen to the west.
"The day we were sent here, two sea creatures fought each other near that statue. When the water receded, I saw an enormous carcass lying there, with hundreds of scavengers slowly tearing it apart."
Nephis nodded.
"That would explain the lack of Nightmare Creatures in the day. How long?"
Sunny blinked.
"How long what?"
Changing Star stared at him for a few seconds, making everyone feel uncomfortable.
"How long... until they are done devouring the carcass?"
"Oh. Not very long actually. I'd estimate we have a day at most."
Yoru wore a grim look.
"Then we can't afford to linger. Once the crabs are done with their meal, they'll begin roaming the labyrinth. And once that happens, traversing the place will become significantly more complicated."
Nephis nodded in agreement.
"Sunny's shadow can scout the way ahead for us. We avoid combat unless it's unavoidable. If we depart in the morning, we should be able to put enough distance between ourselves and them."
Sunny considered her words for a moment before nodding.
"West it is then. I think we have enough tools to survive, provided we use them right... I guess it's time to sleep?"
"Alright. I'll… take watch first." Nephis replied calmly.
Sunny decided to be helpful and said:
"Actually, my shadow doesn't sleep. It can wake us up if something happens."
"I'll take watch first."
Nephis seemed very adamant on the idea.
Yoru didn't comment or even bother trying to comprehend why Nephis was so insistent. He had already learned that attempting to decipher Changing Star's reasoning was a pointless endeavour. She was an anomalous creature, whose motives could not be understood.
Or more accurately, conveyed.