Gwin had not struggled to find his way back. His sense of direction had always been decent but now it was even better. He had been on guard ever since spotting that nightmare creature. Sitting in the dark let him focus on his other inhuman senses besides sight. His hearing and smell both had gotten sharper through focus. All around him sounds bounced off of these walls surrounding Gwin in a chorus of sounds. He heard drips of water, whistling air, and something large and slimy moving somewhere far below him. He could smell it too, far below him a pungent and fishy smell was making its way to his nose.
It had not been the same smell as last night though, that smell was still present and it seemed to be on all things.
All he could do was hope and pray there was someone else in here with a weapon memory but even then he knew their chances were not good. Two sleepers against any nightmare creature is a bad match up unless it was dormant. They were only meant to face a dormant beast or two and find a citadel but Gwin's hopes had been squashed by this unfamiliar land. As Gwin took in the smells around him a faint scent reached his nose.
Blood.
The sickly sweet smell of blood wormed its way into Gwin's senses making him feel queasy. Somewhere down there near that fishy smell was someone bleeding. Human blood smelled different from nightmare creature blood after all. Even before becoming a sleeper in the belly of that snake he knew the acrid stench of nightmare creature blood.
Gwin had to make a decision. Was he going to go to the source of the scent and try to help? Would it even matter? What if they were already dead? Gwin pondered his options silently but he knew what he had to do. Something his dad had told him once flashed in his mind.
'Nobody survives alone in the dream realm…'
If he wanted any chance of making it out of here he was going to have to find others. He did have one way still to fight but it would be risky. He could summon the 'snake blade' for a moment and if he got lucky he should be able to kill the nightmare creature with it. After all that blade was of the awakened rank. If that nightmare creature was above the awakened rank then he was doomed to die anyway.
Gwin gulped down his fear and began crawling through the tunnels stealthily, careful not to make even a sound. Due to his sense of smell he could tell there were not any more abominations near him thankfully.
The stench of blood was getting closer as he kept taking the tunnels heading downwards. Gwin had even forgotten his nakedness in his concentration.
Soon he found himself on the same level as the two scents. The smell of blood was closer to him and he began heading that way. With any luck he would be able to get the other sleeper and escape without having to fight…wait…didn't he need to fight though? Wasn't that what he had been waiting for? A new nightmare creature to transform into?
'Save them, recover, and then kill it later…hopefully'
He was going to look so cool if he pulled this off. Gwin turned the corner and through the darkness made out the silhouette of a corpse. Their features were hard to make out because they were covered in their own blood. It looked like they had gone swimming in a pool full of knives. The entirety of their body was covered in erratic lacerations. They were wearing clothes still which filled Gwin with joy.
When an awakened or sleeper dies their memories disappear into a rain of sparks, which meant they must be alive. Gwin had to hurry if he wanted to get them out of here. As he got closer he was able to make out more features, short stature, pale skin…red hair.
'Shit!'
It was Elena of Clan Song. He didn't have time to wonder what kind of abomination could have done that to her of all people and he definitely did not want to meet it. He wrapped an arm around her and threw her arm over his shoulder. He could hear her raspy breathing faintly and quickly began trying to retrace his steps as the other sound closed in on him. She had been in a larger space inside the black stone. Gwin couldn't make out the other side of the cavern through the darkness.
Right before dragging her into one of the smaller tunnels he heard something wet and heavy hit the ground on the other side of the cavern. Gwin hardly had a chance to react before red tentacles shot towards him crashing into the rock and slicing flesh. Gwin was cut deep on his side. It was a pain unlike anything he had felt before. The blinding pain sent him into manic overdrive. He threw Elena into one of the openings and dashed off to dodge another barrage of attacks.
A deafening shrill echoed in the cavern making Gwin's ears ring. Strong tentacles shot forward aiming to catch Gwin, they promised instant death if caught. He barely dodged them, losing a stretch of skin on his arm from the chitinous blades adorning the ends of the tentacles and dashed forward. His only chance would be to slay this thing right now. He was confident he could get it in on hit if he found the right weak point. Elena was not going to make it much longer with her wounds either.
His muscles tightened in his legs as he closed the distance in a few short seconds. Before him it seemed the rest of this creature was still slithering through the tunnel. Its body bulged and expanded upon entering the opening.
'The one I saw earlier!'
Gwin was in luck. He knew that these mollusc nightmare creatures could be wounded fatally if you pierce them where their tentacles connect to the rest of their body, right in the head.
He summoned the jagged blade but this time from the top of his fist. He felt his arm lock up as the long jagged thing extended from his knuckles. The jagged blade met the creature's red leathery skin just as it had finished extending.
Blue blood sprayed Gwin's body as he thrust it in with all of his might. He grabbed its large body with his other hand trying his best to stay on despite the creatures thrashing.
After flailing its tentacles a while longer and giving Gwin a number of deep cuts it finally grew still. Gwin sighed in relief as the spell whispered in his ear.
[You have slain an Awakened Beast: Remnant Feeder]
Gwin had already retracted his blade and dismissed the transformation. He had nearly passed out just from the few seconds it took the remnant feeder to die. He trudged towards Elena who had not moved from the spot Gwin had dropped her. She lay there in a heap.
'What do I do..'
He didn't allow himself to panic. He had to dress her wounds and stop the bleeding first and foremost. The only problem was he didn't have anything to do that with. If her clothes had been ordinary he could have used them but once a memory sustains too much damage it will disappear into a rain of sparks to either heal itself or because it was destroyed. His mind raced trying to come up with a solution. He was not looking good either. Hot blood was rushing from his wound making a puddle on the ground. With no other option he held his hand out and summoned his only memory.
He had been hesitant to experiment with the [Kiss of Kesh] ever since the first time he did, however something inside him was telling him it was his only option. A circular black case appeared on his hand in a rain of sparks. Gwin quickly twisted the lid off and thrust his hand into the milky white cream inside. Its smooth surface had been restored to its original smoothness again. Gwin scooped a chunk out and rubbed it over a large cut on Elena's stomach.
'Please work, please work, please wo-'
To Gwin's relief he watched as the smooth cream hardened into pale stone on her wounds before falling away to reveal smooth skin.
'Yes!'
He didn't even have time to celebrate in his head as he sprung into action making sure to cover every deep cut in the petrifying cream. A memory that could heal was extremely rare and sought after and he had unknowingly had one the entire time. He was reaching the bottom of the case and he still needed to address his own wounds so he only applied it to her worst cuts leaving the smaller ones to heal on their own. He barely managed to cover his own cuts before passing out from blood loss.