22: obtaining a puppet

Jonathan's POV:

"And that was when the 'shell centurion' appeared; that's what that awakened monster was called," I said, with a pale smile on my face.

Sasha looked at me with slightly widened eyes at the mention of the awakened monster, but I continued my story.

"Killing that centurion was sheer luck, but the problem occurred when I drove the dagger into its head. Without realizing it, a scavenger climbed up the coral without alerting me, and before I knew it, its claw was lodged in my right lung."

She frowned and looked at me with a confused expression before speaking.

"But if the scavenger could pierce your chest, how did it die? Where do those hollow wounds or the ones that look like they were made with claws come from? No, wait, don't answer; I'm sure you have your secrets. I won't pressure you to reveal anything. I want you to tell me when you can trust me."

I looked at her and nodded, grateful that she didn't ask more and trusted me so much.

"Thank you," I said, with an honest smile on my face.

After sharing our part of the story, we decided to discuss the details of our next moves after recovering from the fatigue. I told her that I would take the first watch, not only because I wanted her to rest after the tumultuous days she'd had but also because I needed time to process everything.

'I don't understand what happened, what's happening with me, the fact of coming back to life, or the fact that there's some kind of powerful being sleeping in my soul, all of this has to do with my transmigration? I really don't know anything.

'I feel that something is very out of place, but I don't understand what that something is, or if I'll ever understand it. Maybe all this is just a bad dream. But no, fate isn't that kind, this feels too real.

'All the pain I felt in every fight at the academy or every wound suffered, that couldn't be something fake. Forget it, I have no answers to any of these questions, but thinking that I could come back from the dead, does this have something to do with my attribute [???]? It says that my soul was endowed with special qualities by a higher deity, does that deity have something to do with my transmigration? I still can't get answers, and I can't seek them either, I need to become stronger to know more.'

'Putting all those thoughts to the back of my mind, I need to think about what I'll do next. The next important event is Ashen Barrow. If I want to reach the dark city and the castle, I'll have to get involved with the original protagonists.'

'Sunny will burn the tree so the horrors will destroy it when they break free from their mental control, so I can't go there after them, also, I can't kill the awakened devil that protects the cursed tree on my own.'

'Wait, I'm forgetting something. What was it, damn.'

I opened my eyes and immediately searched my runes.

Name: Jonathan

True Name: Soul Appropriator

Rank: Dormant

Core: Inactive

Essence Shards: [127/1000]

Memories: [Fallen Legion Armor] [Traitor's Tooth]

Aspect: [Puppeteer]

Aspect Rank: Divine

Innate Ability: [Foresight]

Awakened Ability: [Soul Control]

"They're not there."

Something hurt inside my chest as I realized I had lost my puppet. Maybe it hadn't been mine for long, but the times I used it, it felt as natural as another part of me, so losing it was something to regret, but at least I have hundreds of other awakened beasts in this labyrinth.

So, should I meet Sunny's cohort in Ashen Barrow or should it be before?

Maybe it's best to wait for them at the edge of the labyrinth, I'll get there first anyway since I'm not dealing with a blind oracle who needs assistance to walk.

With Sasha, my journey to Ashen Barrow should be much easier, she can help me get a puppet, but can I trust her with my best trick up my sleeve?

Yes, I can, if she wanted to hurt me, she could have done it while I was unconscious, but instead, she laid me on her lap and protected me from a scavenger. I should trust her at least that much. Besides, as Jet said at the beginning of the novel, 'no one lives forever being alone in the realm of dreams.'

Fine, tomorrow I'll tell her about my ability, and we'll head west. If I'm too far from Ashen Barrow, I should hurry, in case I appeared farther than Sunny and he gets there before me and sets the tree on fire.

***

When I woke up, I saw Sasha watching the retreating water and approached her.

"Good morning."

"Good morning, looks like you want to say something, right?"

"Yes, I want to tell you how the thing with the scavengers really happened."

She looked at me and nodded; we moved to the center and sat across from each other.

"First of all, I need to tell you about my aspect ability."

"Wait, are you sure you want to share that already? I can wait, I don't want to pressure you."

"No, it's okay, I trust you, you've already saved me once, it's the least I can do. Now listen, my aspect ability allows me to control a creature, any creature, that has a soul core. The time it takes me to control an awakened beast is two minutes, while for a dormant beast it's only one minute. The one who helped me kill all those scavengers was an awakened class puppet, it died cut down by the centurion."

Sasha looked at me with a thoughtful expression before speaking.

"That's very powerful, if you can control anyone with a soul core, you could control anyone. If that ability were in the wrong hands, it would be a great disaster."

"That's right, but now that I've lost my puppet, my power will be greatly reduced, I can fight two scavengers but one more and I'll be in serious trouble."

"If I manage to get a scavenger as a puppet, it would be a great gain, I want you to help me with that. I'll create a full-body shield with my armor, and you'll withstand one for two minutes."

She looked at me with a serious expression, I understand, with everything I told and asked her, anyone would be in a dilemma, but if she trusts me and we manage to get a new puppet, our pace will be much faster.

After a full minute, she spoke.

"Alright, I'll accept that, my ability can greatly enhance my attributes like speed, endurance, and defense, it also includes all senses. My innate ability reinforces my body and makes it much more resilient than usual, so I have confidence in holding one off alone for two minutes."

From what she told me, her aspect is focused on combat, her innate body enhancement, and her improvement ability will be of great help.

But she hadn't finished speaking when she suddenly interrupted my thoughts.

"Besides all that, my aspect ability that enhances me creates an area around me that can boost all the senses and physical attributes of those I consider my allies."

"Wait, are you telling me you can enhance your body, enhance others, and on top of that, you also have an innate body enhancement? Your aspect must be very strong to give you such abilities, that will be very useful."

"I can hold off the scavenger with you, that way we won't have any problems. There's still a lot of daylight, get ready and we'll go find one."

"Alright, let's go."

***

Already under the coral, I delved into the labyrinth searching with my soul sense for a solitary scavenger. It didn't take long until I sensed one, about 120 meters from my position.

I guided Sasha towards the scavenger carefully, avoiding alerting large groups of scavengers until we reached our target.

"Alright, you go first, I just need to be 12 meters away to control it."

"Okay, I'll go now, hurry up."

Sasha shot forward like thunder towards the scavenger.

The beast defended itself, and they clashed. The scavenger with its claws and Sasha with her ascended shield made with the armor of my arms and helmet. It wasn't the biggest but it was sturdy.

I came out of my hiding place when the scavenger looked away following Sasha and when I was in range, I started to control it.

Sasha took another hit from both claws and moved aside, avoiding the beast falling on her with its full body.

I quickly got to her side and kicked the pointed legs of the beast, making it lose its balance.

1 minute since the control began, only one more to go.

The beast used its two claws to attack me, but Sasha appeared and covered me with the shield and her body.

I moved from the spot and attacked the scavenger's legs again.

Noticing my intentions, the scavenger lifted its front legs and tried to crush me.

Sasha covered me again, and I went for the back legs, which I managed to reach by dodging a claw and cutting one of its legs.

The beast fell, and only a few seconds were left to slow its movements.

Sasha and I hit both raised claws together as the scavenger fell, leaving them unable to move. Once again, I was impressed by the strength Sasha gave me and her own strength.

She only told me she absorbed a core and the 6 I gave her from the scavengers, so her core shouldn't be that full, but her strength was superior to mine, which already had 127 shards.

In any case, the scavenger was already doomed, its movements slowed, and after another 20 seconds, it was my puppet, which I sent to my soul to recover from the injuries we caused it.

"Well done, you fought splendidly Sasha, I didn't think you were such a good fighter."

"Thanks, but you didn't fight badly either, I guess it was expected. After all, you were trained by an Ascended."

"Yeah, I learned well from the beatings I got in my training."

In good spirits after our victory, we returned to the coral and spent the night without incident.