Asher felt disgusting.

Looking north from the top of the marble arch, Asher saw the distant grey wall.

Finally, they had returned.

The past three months had been an endless bloody nightmare, with countless horrors and battles leaving their marks on him. And yet, they had also been an anvil against which he was tested, tempered, and made stronger as the result.

But none of that mattered for now...

Because Asher was disgusted. Absolutely revolted. He shivered just imagining what he must look like. His beautiful face!

He turned dramatically toward Sunny."Hey, shorty! How do I look?!"

Sunny clicked his tongue, clearly annoyed that Asher had interrupted him from staring at his runes. With a long-suffering sigh, he gave Asher a once-over.

"Let's see… You're covered in dirt and filth. That trench coat you wouldn't shut up about back in the Hollow Mountains? Riddled with holes. Your white hair's gone long and patchy, clumped together with… well, let's not ask what. And…" Sunny's grin sharpened, "…there isn't even a scruff of hair on your chin."

Asher staggered back, clutching his chest as if mortally wounded. An arm suddenly clamped around his shoulders. Effie tousled his filthy hair with a wicked grin.

"Relax, pretty boy. You still look photogenic, you know?"

Over the past months, he and Effie had somehow become a duo—bonded mostly through the art of relentlessly teasing Sunny, though the constant banter had made them close in their own way.

So close that Asher involuntarily began calling Sunny shorty few times and Effie calling Sunny Flower boy rather than Doofus.

Asher sighed looking at his runes.

[999/1000]

Like how unlucky did a guy have to be? Seriously.

'Oh well. I'll just ask for a soul shard from Aiko.'

He walked over to Nephis, who was tending the fire. Her culinary skills had improved a lot during these months — despite the fact that there had not been a large variety of ingredients at their disposal. Still, being able to turn the most repulsive of monsters into a delicious meal was something that not everyone was capable of.

Asher plucked a strip of meat, skewered it on a coral stick, and roasted it in the flames. Nephis sighed softly, picked up some salt, and sprinkled it onto the meat without ceremony.

"You forgot the salt."

Asher coughed. "A-Ah, yes. My bad."

She shook her head and returned to the pot."You know, you could just sit and wait for the food like everyone else."

Asher chuckled under his breath. "I could."

"…Then why aren't you?"

He left the meat floating midair, turning it lazily with a tug of gravity, and turned toward her."Well, remember those two months I spent alone on the Forgotten Shore?"

Nephis' hands paused for a fraction of a second. Her expression didn't change, but Asher caught the way her lips pressed together. He quickly looked away.

He would rather not think too hard about that time either.

"Anyway," he went on, forcing a grin, "I could barely eat back then. My cooking was… well, let's just say inedible. I had to use crab shells as makeshift distillation traps just to get drinkable water, and whatever pitiful salt I scraped together went into making their meat barely chewable. Sounds clever on paper, right? But in practice?" He grimaced. "I'm pretty sure I nearly poisoned myself."

He probably did. If not for [Within the Unseen], which strengthened his flesh and blood, he probably would have died.

"You should realize how bad I was at cooking."

Nephis narrowed her eyes at the skewered meat slowly charring behind him. Her thoughts whispered quietly. 'You still are.' But she let him continue.

"So, yeah. I want to get better. Just in case I ever find myself alone again in the Dream Realm."

"Alone?" Her voice was sharper than intended.

Asher waved her concern away with a lazy gesture. "Come on, it's just a precaution. Who knows what's waiting ahead of us, right?"

Nephis froze. Then her shoulders sagged, the faintest exhale escaping her lips. "…Right. The future."

Her gaze drifted to Cassie and Sunny chatting quietly nearby.

'Future...'

The future was definitely uncertain. Nephis had thought she pretty much understood what Cassie's vision was. Of course, nothing was clear about the meaning of the outcomes, but the outcome was clear.

A man with black-hair kills Gunlaug, A shadow ends an angel. Sunny was the center of all of it. But then Asher came along. For some reason Asher wasn't there in the vision once. Nephis had originally thought that was because Asher had died but he hadn't.

He had survived… more than survived. He was strong—strong enough to stand beside her.

The more she thought about it, the less it made sense. That was until Nephis heard Asher's true name.

'Echo of the Abyss.'

Cassie describe how she saw nothing at the end of her vision. Nothing but black. Like the void. Like the... Abyss. She wasn't quite sure what this abyss meant but her Perception of Cassie's vision wasn't that clear anymore.

She shook her head, forcing herself back to the present.

"…Your meat is burning."

Asher's face paled. "Crap!!"

***

"Hey, Ash."

Sunny's eyes narrowed as he glared across the fire. Asher froze, his teeth halfway sunk into a juicy piece of meat."…What?"

Sunny glanced down at his own food, then at the others. His brow twitched."Isn't mine… a little burnt?"

In fact, his was the only one burnt.

Asher pursed his lips, shivering a little under Sunny's stare. "…I don't think so." He elbowed Effie. "Hey, is his meat burnt?"

Effie, mid-bite into a massive bone, blinked at Sunny. "No? Looks fine to me." She promptly went back to gnawing.

Asher spread his hands. "See? Nothing."

Sunny felt a vein pulse at his temple. "That's because that thing is biased toward you!" He jabbed the charred bone in Asher's direction.

Asher gasped, slapping his palm dramatically over his mouth as if Sunny had said something forbidden. Sunny's face went pale, realizing too late.

Effie swallowed the last of her bone and tilted her head, feigning a wounded look. "Thing? I'm heartbroken, Sunny. Is that what you thought of me… even when I slept in your bed?"

Sunny's eyes went wide. Kai immediately spit out the mouthful of water he was drinking—right onto Caster's face.

The handsome legacy sat there, deadpan, chewing his food in silence while Kai stumbled over apologies, while Caster nodded slowly.

Meanwhile, Asher was doubled over, laughing so hard tears streamed down his face.

Sunny's jaw clenched. "Hey! People are going to misunderstand! You damned pervert!"

Effie burst into full-blown laughter, clutching her stomach. Across the fire, Nephis sat perfectly still, expression unreadable, while Cassie quietly nibbled her meat with perfect poise.

"Those three months without Asher were so peaceful," Cassie murmured, her tone as elegant as her posture.

"…They were," Nephis admitted. Then, she allowed a small smile. "But I did miss this."

Cassie nodded, her expression growing a bit solemn, "Yeah... So did I."

________________

[A/N: I nailed Effie this Chapter bro.]