The group had dealt with the scavengers quickly. When Sandra was dealing with the injured scavenger, Ike helped Sunny finish off the struggling one. With its dying breath, the group had successfully killed three awakened beasts in quick succession.
It would have been a fantastic milestone for any group of sleepers, but Sandra had seen too much of Kade to try and hold any pride for her accomplishments. Although she knew her father might, it was why she was hoping to tell her story once she got out.
And about Kade...
They had buried his sleeping body about 100 meters back to ensure he wouldn't get eaten while they were away. As much as Sandra would prefer to have him killed for his treason...
Sunless had a point.
He had killed eight of those beasts when she had struggled, killing an injured one, despite the aftermath he experienced. That power would be vital to their survival in this unknown death zone.
'He'd better have an answer when he wakes up. And if he tries to dodge the question…'
Her fingers curled into fists.
'I'll make him suffer.'
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The group harvested the soul shards of the three beasts. Ike tried sharing between the three, but Sunless refused yet again. So the silent warrior offered Sandra two, rather generous of him. But Sandra honestly didn't expect anything less.
He couldn't talk, yet he had proved himself a competent and trustworthy ally. If it weren't for him, she would be dead at least ten times over.
That kind of action that he took was worth its weight in gold. So she decided to stick closer to the caped sleeper as things went on.
After all, the only two other sleepers left alive with her were the people she would trust the least.
One was clearly a sporadic gang member who had killed her friend, and the other was a suspicious short kid who lacked empathy.
The group moved on from their first battle and continued on their travel back to the closest outcropping of stone. Well, one tall enough to rise above the coming waves; if they didn't make it back by nightfall, they were as good as dead.
With plenty of reason enough to hurry, the group managed to avoid true danger thanks to Sunny's scouting abilities. Even when they were forced to engage in combat, they were victorious without harm.
Most surprising, out of their engagements with more carapace scavengers, was that Sunless was quite strong. His Azure blade always had a lusterless darkness that seemed unusual, and it had always managed to break through the scavenger's armor much easier than her twin daggers ever did.
Not to mention, he managed to dodge the pincers of the scavengers with practiced efficiency; with no movement ability like her own or Ike's, he still managed to do it. 'He clearly did something to place second to last in the ranking...'
He was resourceful, smart, and quick-thinking. Along with his aspect ability, he would be the perfect partner in battle...
If she could trust him at all, or if he was particularly skilled when it came to combat in general. Most of the time, it looked like he was guessing how the flow went and somehow managing to pick the right option, or weasel himself out of novice mistakes.
Either way, it was good to have another powerful sleeper by her side; more powerful allies meant more opportunities to gain powerful memories by working alongside them.
And Sandra had collected two from the scavengers.
[Illustrious Heart] and [Persuasive Guard]
[Illustrious Heart] was a charm, one that allowed her to send one-sided messages to somebody she was 'connected' with. The other, [Persuasive Guard], on the other hand, was a large wooden shield that had the enchantment to draw nightmare creatures' attention to her.
It would have been a great memory for someone like Grudge, but he was gone... Such a memory didn't suit her style, stature, or aspect. So, its use would be far from frequent.
It was common to find memories that weren't much of a help normally; most were a bit niche. With an awakening over time, fulfilling their arsenal of memories that they could make the most use of. So she would experiment later to see if they had any other perks that were worth using.
In the meantime, she had to keep pace.
The sun drifted melancholically across the pale blue sky. Hours had passed, but they had made it to the outcropping with a couple of hours to spare. The jagged ridge of dark stone rises above the crystal maze like a home.
It was nothing of the sort, but a place to rest after such a big day was truly desirable.
They began the climb. Fatigue had weighed their bodies down, yet the trio gritted their teeth and forced themselves to rise. Or more like just her... She seemed to be the only one struggling a lot.
Even Sunless, who had managed to throw Kade over his back, beat the two easily in the climb to the top; with less fatigue and the unusual surplus of strength he displayed earlier, he ascended like a rat up the brick house of an industrial factory.
Ike was only a bit ahead of her; he had volunteered to be the group's somewhat porter and had been the one laden with makeshift pouches of crab meat, yet despite the burden. He climbed with practiced skill, his movements smooth and deliberate, like someone who had done this a hundred times before.
'Couldn't he just teleport once I or Sunny got up?' Sandra questioned, reaching further up to her next hold. From what she could gather from Ike's face, he seemed happy to be climbing.
For some reason.
'Maybe I am the only normal one here,' she mused.
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The fire crackled low beneath the three of them; gathered and dried seaweed was put to use as the fire's basis. Makeshift antenna from the scavengers providing a nice platform to skewer their meat on.
They all leaned forward, lips parting slightly as the scent of cooking crustacean wafted through the air. Sandra and Sunny had both tried sneaking a bite, but Ike's sharp glares had kept their hands at bay.
Apparently, the silent sleeper was waiting for it to be perfect.
As much as Sandra wanted to ignore him or berate him for delaying her first proper meal since entering the cursed zone.
She couldn't help but wonder if waiting would make it taste better.
When Ike finally bit into his skewer, the other two followed in an instant.
Eventually Ike dug in, and his other two companions followed quickly. Sunny gorged on the glorious sweetness in his mouth, while Sandra savored the succulent juice that brought life to her taste buds.
The three finished their meal and left the fire to sizzle out.
Sunny lay flat on his back, careless and unbothered, as if the rock was the most comfortable of beds.
Ike, ever the quiet worker, had already set about cleaning the mess they'd made, picking up bones, skewers, and discarded shell fragments with practiced movements.
Sandra sat back and let her exhaustion melt from her muscles, a heavy exhale slipping from her lips. She hadn't realized just how tightly she'd been wound until now.
Sunless, who she thought was relaxing, suddenly jumped. Springing out of his rest and into standing immediately. His eyes were wide open in surprise.
Ike regarded him silently, while Sandra questioned tiredly.
Turns out he hadn't been properly slacking.
"What is it?"
He didn't answer at first. Just adjusted the Azure blade on his back and stepped away from the fire.
"I saw Changing Star and Cassie," he said. "They're wondering not too far off from here."
Sandra shot up.
"Nephis! She's nearby?" She didn't know who Cassie was, but she knew Nephi as the silver-haired sleeper who garnered the most admiration. The first-ranked sleeper in the cohort, with Kade taking second.
And who didn't know of the immortal flame clan?
Ike suddenly sped up his cleaning, diligently scraping the place clean for their arrival, while Sandra summoned her twin daggers, ready to escort their allies back to the makeshift base.
"You guys can take watch over Kade while I head down." Sunless
"What?" Sandra Spout. "Shouldn't we all go?"
They both looked to Ike, who rapidly shook his head in the negative. Still stuck in his frantic mop-up operation. Mostly Sunny's mess, naturally--he wasn't exactly the cleanest eater. The silent sleeper seemed laser-focused on making a good impression on the legacy.
With that out of the way, Sunless scoffed.
"I would rather go by myself and not have you complaining about the climb up"—before snapping his fingers—"and with Ike here, he should be there to protect Kade if you have any ideas."
"Right?" Sunless asked, ignoring the irritated gaze of Sandra.
Ike stopped his task for a moment, glaring back at Sunny with a stern seriousness, taking some time to think, before he nodded reluctantly. Sandra growled at his dismissal.
"Do you think that little of me? I promised I wouldn't do so till he started talking!" No matter how tempting it was at times...
Sunny bit his lips before answering bluntly.
"Yes."
Sandra froze in place and prepared to hurl an array curse at the scruffy sleeper, but by that time, the short shadow had decided to dip, quickly maneuvering out of the conflict like the weasel he was, slipping away in the pockets of darkness.
Sandra sighed, receiving a pitied look from Ike as she sat down again. The anger dying on her tongue.
The cool wind brushed over her pale skin, like a soothing embrace. She mentally sunk herself deeper into the experience and tried to rid her mind of different things.
Like the [illustrious Heart] memory she had received, after all, she had finally gotten the time to tinker with it.
Avoiding the sight of the sleeping brawler, Sandra played around with the bracelet while she waited for the return of the shadow.
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[Authors Note]
Would been a longer chapter, but I hadn't got as much sleep. So just say if you want me to go into the three meeting like the novel or kind of skim past it, since I'm aware you've read that same event probably a billion times over like I have.
But their interactions will still be just as connected in the group, I can skip over that bit but ill build up the words behind there connection no matter what.
Also, spoilers, if you were wondering our boy Kade should awaken next chapter.
It was nice to have a little break to write in Sandras pov tho.
And also its fun to write a fanfic with an oc, where sunny has an existence more than just comic relief or someone to be treated like a child or berated as such.
Ill do my very best to make that the complete opposite.
Thanks for reading, your support means the world.