39: Change in Destiny

After eating the fruit, Jonathan returned to the cohort with six more. They were large, so he arrived a bit later than expected because carrying so many was complicated.

"Hey! Guess what!" he shouted so everyone could hear him. They looked at him with different emotions as they saw him arrive with so many fruits from the tree.

They remained silent at Jonathan's question, waiting for him to say what he wanted them to guess.

"The fruits give soul fragments when you eat them!" Everyone looked at him, puzzled and suspicious.

"Don't look at me like that, I'm serious. Try one and you'll see. They're incredibly delicious too!"

"You know, you're a really strange guy," commented Sunny, eyeing the fruits in Jonathan's hands with suspicion.

"I don't think eating that is a good idea, Jony," said Sasha, worried about her friend and the consequences of eating something strange.

"Didn't you think you might turn into a monster or get poisoned by those fruits?" said Ludwin, eyeing the juicy fruits in his hands.

"Don't worry, they're delicious, juicy, and they make you stronger. Sasha, could you try one? You'll see they're not bad," he said as he looked at his friend, who trusted him and could demonstrate that the fruits weren't harmful.

Sasha's stomach growled a bit loudly at the smell of the fruit, and she spoke, a little flushed.

"I think I could. Give me one, I'll just take a bite." She stretched out her hand with some doubt still, but decided that one bite wouldn't do much harm.

"Hey, you're not seriously thinking of eating those things, right? They come from a strange tree in the middle of this coral labyrinth. Nothing normal could survive in this hell, it's obvious the fruits have something wrong," shouted Sunny, completely against eating the fruits.

"Don't exaggerate, Sunny. They're good, and besides, they would help you a lot. You're the one who has the hardest time strengthening your core," he said, looking at Sunny while swinging a fruit near him.

Sunny's empty stomach growled at the fresh aroma of the fruits swaying in front of his face.

"Here, try this one, Sasha. It seems ripe and will give more fragments," he said as he threw a particularly large fruit to Sasha, who caught it and looked at it for a few seconds before taking a bite.

Her eyes lit up at the celestial taste of the fruit, and then widened even more when the spell notified her that her soul received some soul fragments.

"This is amazing! It just gave me soul fragments from a single bite," shouted Sasha, taking more bites of the juicy fruit.

Ludwin and Isaac watched this somewhat stunned by their leader's clear indifference to eating and giving them the fruits, but both were hungry, so they decided to take the risk.

After their group began eating the fruits, Sunny, Nephis, and Cassia also fell to his persuasion and agreed to eat a bit of fruit.

"I thought it would be harder. It seems that having more people eating can change things. Besides, Sunny didn't seem as reluctant as in the novel. These attitude changes, what are they due to?" Without answers to these questions, he decided to sit next to everyone and eat another fruit.

Breaking the silence, he decided to talk about Cassia's visions and their objective in heading west.

"So, can I ask why you decided to come west? Of all the directions, it's curious that we take the same one," said Jonathan as he looked at Sunny and Nephis.

"Cassia is an oracle; she had a vision of a castle populated by people who seemed awakened, and the castle is to the west, so we're heading there to find the gateway," replied Sunny, his mouth now full of fruit and the red liquid running down his face.

"I see, that's good. We headed there because I felt there was something special in the west. By the way, did she have more visions? I'd like to learn more about possible futures," he asked Sunny again, as he couldn't help but give answers.

Sunny looked at him for a moment and then grimaced before speaking again:

"Yes, she had more visions," he finally said, with some annoyance in his voice. Jony didn't care and asked again.

"What were they about? Any vision of the castle or something related?" he looked at Sunny, expectant for his answers.

Sunny grimaced again and looked at Jonathan, who kept asking him questions.

"Yes, a vision about a battle, a horde of monsters, and a tower."

He looked at Cassia and now didn't ask Sunny anymore to avoid angering him further.

"Cassia, I'm sorry to bother you, but I'd love to hear about your visions. I've always been fascinated by prophecies."

Cassia looked at Nephis as if seeking her approval, and after a slight nod, she decided to share her experience.

Jonathan, with a mix of excitement and anxiety, prepared to listen attentively.

"Alright, when I first received the vision, I felt horrified. Then I told Sunny and Nephis about it. This is what I saw: I saw an infinite darkness, trapped behind seven mysterious seals. Within that darkness, there was an imposing presence moving restlessly. The sensation was so overwhelming that, for a moment, I feared losing my sanity."

After a deep breath, Cassia continued recounting her vision.

"I saw the seals breaking one by one until the last one shattered. At that moment, everything became confusing. My mind seemed to fragment, reflecting dark and terrifying images, some of which have already begun to fade from my memory."

For a moment, a slight tremor was visible in Cassia's body.

"Then, I saw a castle. It was the same one Sunny had mentioned before, but this time I was in a hall full of people, shouting things I couldn't remember."

"The scene changed, but I was still in the same room. The difference was that I saw a man in golden armor falling to his knees while a sea of blood flowed from his severed head. I couldn't see the figure who had cut off his head.."

"Then, I found myself on a battlefield in a land ravaged by monsters. At the front, two ladies with shields formed an impenetrable wall, defending their own. Behind them, a noble-looking man advanced with hundreds of warriors. The scene kept changing, and I saw an archer trying to pierce the skies with his arrows while they fell upon him."

"Then, the vision showed me a crimson needle guarded by seven severed heads, each holding a lock. My view changed and rose to the highest point, where I saw a blurry and distorted figure falling into an abyss of darkness. The view changed again, and I found myself seeing a shadow being devoured by a vortex of ethereal energy that then sucked in and disintegrated the shadow into white sparks. The last thing I saw was an angel illuminating a world of darkness while walking aimlessly. Seeing it wander in that dark world, I felt a profound sadness and helplessness, as if I had lost something very valuable."

Cassia seemed visibly affected by the memory of her vision. Jonathan, perceiving her distress, apologized and walked away, leaving Cassia with her thoughts.

'This is not good. The vision was supposed to be different. The man in golden armor was supposed to die on a throne, and the hungry shadow was supposed to devour the angel of light. What changed? Did the destiny really alter with my intervention? If so, it's a big problem. I must maintain the important events, I must make Sunny Nephis' slave and ensure she stays behind.'

With more thoughts like this, he reached a secluded area and lay down, thinking about what to do in the coming days and how to make Sunny stronger. He already had an idea of how to make him grow faster; he just needed to avoid Cassia's vision and keep Nephis near the tree.

The day passed quietly in his private area, and night fell.