14 - Full Party

After a while, Ingvild had fallen asleep in Shirou's lap, and he assumed that the same can be said for Sunny and Cassie. As he looked into the distance, he noticed something.

On the horizon, a glowing light can be seen. It stood out among the endless sea, so it wasn't easy to miss. Shirou figured that there was other people in the area.

Let's meet them once it's morning.

Shirou looked down at Ingvild before summoning her runes.

Blades: [Ingvild of the Storm]

Shirou focused on her name. He widened his eyes after seeing her runes appear.

Name: Ingvild of the Storm

True Name: —

Soul Core: Awakened

Soul Shards: [0/1000].

Aspect: [Storm Priestess].

Aspect Rank: [Divine].

Aspect Description: [There was once a priestess who carried the blood of the Storm God. Wherever she walks, the sea parts and storms disperse. She had achieved a higher level of divinity after offering herself to a Divine Sword. THE WORLD SHALL WITNESS THE REBIRTH OF THE SEA SERPENT.]

Attributes: [Mark of Divinity], [Undrowning], [Child of Storms], [Reforged].

[Mark Of Divinity]: (You bear a faint scent of divinity, as though someone briefly touched by it once, a long time ago.)

[Undrowning]: (Although you abandoned the sea, the sea will never abandon you.)

[Child of Storms]: (You are blessed by the sea and storms. You have a high affinity with these domains.)

[Reforged]: (You have been brought back from death. Your sword is now commanded by your savior.)

Aspect Abilities: [Galebreathe], [Sea-Sunk], [Vorpal Blade].

[Galebreathe]: (The Storm God has left behind the ability to control the winds.)

[Sea-Sunk]: (You are one with the water, in the most literal sense possible.)

[Vorpal Blade]: (When you are underwater, the Storm Ruler becomes many times more deadly.)

Shirou shook his head in absolute confusion. Not only does Ingvild have runes similar to a modern-day awakened, but she also seemed to have an evolution to her Aspect.

When reading her Aspect description, Shirou felt like he would have went mad after reading the last few runes. He might have if it wasn't for [Mind of Steel]. Whatever this Sea Serpent was gave him a primal fear, almost as if it was ingrained in his mind.

Forgetting about her Aspect, he read the rest of her runes. [Reforged] and [Vorpal Blade] were completely new runes. [Reforged] probably just made it so that she can't deny any orders he gives her.

That leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Shirou decided to only command Ingvild when he believes that it is for her own sake, just like when she didn't want to sleep in his lap.

[Vorpal Blade] seemed extremely powerful, especially considering where they are. Ingvild's entire skill set helps to deal with any situation regarding large masses of water.

…Well, she's pretty useless outside of water. But at least I've got something out of this.

It seemed like she can get stronger as well, if the soul shard runes were any indication.

Shirou stroked her head as she drooled onto the [Shroud of Justice]. She shifted for a bit, which caused something else to move quite a lot. Shirou stared for a long while, before looking up at the star-filled sky.

…Their size will never cease to amaze me. I am unworthy of looking at such a beautiful sight.

Contrary to what he just said, Shirou made sure to put all of his brainpower into memorizing every contour.

Shirou was not thinking about the stars.

————————————————————

The next morning, Shirou woke up Ingvild before someone else saw her. She groggily woke up before spending a few moments looking at him. She heavily blushed before retreating into a puddle.

[Should you not have gotten some sleep?]

[One of my attributes makes it so that I don't have to worry about it. As long as I have a strong reason to not go to sleep, my mind won't let me.]

[Oh, it's [Mind of Steel] right?]

[…Huh? How did you know about that.]

[I saw all of your memories when I got turned into a Blade. Right now, I can even view your runes. You seem to be very special. Before you, I only knew one person with a Divine Aspect, you know?]

[Wait. You know someone with a Divine Aspect?]

[Of course. It's me after all!]

Shirou thought that she sounded quite proud of herself.

[I already knew that. Divine Aspects aren't impressive anymore, you know?]

[H-huh?]

[At this point, anyone on the streets can have a Divine Aspect. You don't even have a True Name!]

[…Why do you have to be so mean!]

[Uh… Ingvild?]

She didn't answer.

She's acting like Miyu.

[I change my mind. Your Aspect is extremely powerful. It puts even mine to shame. You don't need a True Name because your name is already beautiful enough. That Sea Serpent thing is really cool, even if I have no idea what it was talking about. Your chest is larger than any that I have seen in my li-]

[Stop! Don't make comments like that when you try to appeal to someone!]

[…Didn't you already know about that? I thought you saw all of my memories.]

The puddle of water started to boil.

[They aren't even that big!]

[…Don't lie to yourself.]

Shirou thought for a second.

[Oh, by the way. What rank was your Aspect before?]

[Huh? Well… We didn't have the Nightmare Spell back then, so we could only guess. We thought that mine was Sacred.]

[I see. So your Aspect evolved by one rank after being connected to a Divine Sword?]

[Honestly, I don't think that any other Blades you get will be able to get a Divine Aspect. It was probably only possible due to my Aspect being Sacred, and my connection to divinity.]

[…That makes sense.]

I really wanted to make a Divine army.

Shirou walked over to where Sunny and Cassie were sleeping. Sunny seemed to already be waking up, while Cassie was still asleep.

Shirou and Sunny made eye contact, before nodding to each other.

Sunny's shadow was already moving towards the edge of the hill. Shirou went up to Cassie and tried to shake her awake.

A few minutes later, they had gotten ready to leave the hill.

"Do you need the soul shards, Sunny?"

"Not really, my progression is different from others."

"Oh, me too!"

Cassie simply looked at the two in confusion. They didn't seem to explain, so she ignored it and asked what they were going to do with the soul shards.

"Give them to you, of course."

"Give them to you, of course."

For once, Shirou and Sunny seemed to be on the same page, as Sunny opened the makeshift bag holding all of the soul shards they had.

After feeding all of the soul shards to Cassie, the group of 3(4) walked down the hill.

"I almost forgot. I saw someone lighting a fire last night. It got put out after a few hours though."

"…You're telling us this now?!"

"Let's just go in that direction. I'm sure we can find another place to stay for the night before the water comes back."

"Don't ignore me!"

They proceeded in the direction that Shirou saw the fire from. Sunny had encountered a crippled Carapace Scavenger that was hiding in the floor. He got a weapon from it, so it definitely helped his combat abilities.

"Can you teach me how to use this thing?"

"I would, but unfortunately, I'm only good with one because of my attributes. I wouldn't be able to help you much."

"…Damnation."

Shirou rubbed the back of his head and they spent the next few hours without any trouble. Sunny would take the lead with his shadow serving as a scout. Shirou would lead Cassie with [Evertwine], which he returned to her, as he didn't see much reason for him to have it. It would be more useful if she had it with her at all times. Ingvild was watching their backs in her puddle form.

Sunny froze, causing Shirou to bump into him.

"What is it?"

"The person you talked about. I saw her."

"Do you recognize her?"

"It's Changing Star."

Shirou's face blanked.

What are the odds of that even happening?

"Lead the way, Sunny."

A few minutes later, Shirou, Sunny, and Cassie were hiding behind some coral. Sunny sent out his shadow to try and contact her without being attacked. Sure enough, the moment she caught a glimpse of his shadow, the tall girl lashed out with her sword. The shadow seemed pretty frightened by this.

Sunny made his shadow wave at her, causing her to look at it in confusion.

"We didn't want to surprise you, so I made my shadow get your attention."

She turned around in the direction of Sunny's voice. She saw a pale boy, a shirtless boy, and a blind girl gripping a rope connecting her to the shirtless boy.

Shirou went up to her and smiled.

"Hello. I'm Shirou, the rude-looking boy is Sunny, and the girl is Cassie. You're Nephis, right?"

"Yes."

After hearing that short answer, Shirou and Sunny just continued to look at her. This three-way stare down lasted until she continued.

"I remember you three. Those two were at the bottom of the rankings, while you were at the top with me, right?"

"Yeah. We saw the fire you made last night from a hill, so we tried to find the person who set it."

Shirou looked up at the sun, before noticing that it was getting quite low.

"We should go to the closest vantage point. You should come with us. It'll probably be safer."

"No…"

Shirou and Sunny widened their eyes.

I don't think that's a good idea…

Is she crazy?!

"…problem."

Shirou and Sunny just looked at each other.

————————————————————

By sunset, the 4(5) of them were sitting in a circle on the large cliff that Nephis stayed last night. They had immediately put out the fire after roasting their meat. Nephis had told them that the Nightmare Creatures were attracted to fire.

So that's why she put it out in the middle of the night.

Nephis turned towards them and said, "We should share our Aspects, Memories, and Attributes."

She started.

"My memories are a sword and an armor. My attributes give me an affinity with light and fire. I also have an affiliation with divinity."

"As for my Aspect, it can be used to heal."

Seeing Cassie nod, Shirou decided to go next. Cassie was able to see attributes, so he was confident that Nephis wasn't lying.

"My memories are a sword, a garment, and a tool. I used to have an armor, but I had to give it to Cassie. The tool can be used to attract enemies to myself, and inspire my allies. My attributes give me an affinity for divinity and weapons. I'm somewhat resistant to mental attacks. I'm also not affected by fate the same way most other people are. My Aspect makes my body stronger than others."

Cassie widened her eyes as if she had realized something.

"So that's why I could never see your attributes!"

"You couldn't see them?"

"If your not bound by fate like other people are, then my Aspect wouldn't be able to see you."

I guess her Aspect is all about fate?

"Oh, I should probably go now, right? Uh… my memories are a bottle of endless water, a staff that blows wind, and a rope. My attributes give me an affinity to revelations and fate. My Aspect lets me read attributes. Sometimes, I get visions of the future. I dont think it's very useful…"

Shirou and Sunny smiled to themselves after hearing about that glorious bottle. It was the only thing they could drink from, since the black sea was a Nightmare Creature.

Nephis seemed to have similar thoughts, if the way her mouth watered was any indication.

Cassie seemed to be uncomfortable with the atmosphere and quickly changed the topic.

"Uh… I used be good at fencing. Not anymore though. Anyways, it's your turn Sunny!"

"Huh? Oh, right. I have a sword, an armor, and a bell. My attributes give me an affinity with divinity and shadows. Unlikely things usually happen to me as well. My Aspect lets me control my shadow. I can send it out and see through it's eyes."

Nephis narrowed her eyes at Sunny.

Sunny seemed confused as to why she was staring at him. Cassie leaned over to Sunny's ear and whispered something to him. Sunny seemed to have gotten even paler than usual.

"I never used my shadow to look at anyone in that way! I had more important things to do you know! Like trying to make sure I survive!"

Nephis raised her brow.

"I've never seen you in combat class though? The both of you, actually. Not even once."

"Unlike you guys who went to fancy schools, I had to go take Wilderness Survival to make sure I knew what I was doing! We don't get taught stuff like that in the outskirts.

"Oh, I didn't really need to take the combat class. I would have most likely beat all of the other Sleepers in a sword fight anyways. It was more important to learn how to fight Nightmare Creatures."

Nephis seemed embarrassed after hearing Sunny's words. Once she heard Shirou's though, she quickly snapped her gaze towards him.

"…Don't you think that's a little arrogant?"

"…I don't think I'm wrong."

"Fight me."

"What?"

"Summon your sword and fight me!"

"…If that's what you want."

A few minutes later, Nephis can be seen panting while trying to land a hit on Shirou.

Sunny seemed quite interested in what was going on.

"…Are you guys done yet? It's pretty obvious that Shirou is better."

"No!"

"…Well, more for me then."

Sunny was enjoying watching Shirou effortlessly avoid Nephis's attacks.

Free entertainment, I guess.

After a few more minutes, Shirou seemed to get bored of this, and tripped an exhausted Nephis.

The moment she hit the ground, she was already unconscious.

Shirou turned to Sunny before saying:

"You should ask her to train you. She's good because she know's what she's doing, unlike me who just naturally understands how to move for the best outcome."

Shirou walked away and was about to climb to a higher level of the cliff, before he heard:

"Shirou, Sunny. I have to tell you something."

The two of them glanced at each other before walking over to where Cassie was sitting.

"What's wrong?"

In response to Sunny's question, Cassie thought about how she should explain it.

"Nephis didn't completely explain her attributes."

"Of course she didn't. It's not like she knows us or anything."

Cassie sighed at Sunny's comment, before saying:

"I just thought that I should tell you two. They don't seem to be an issue, but it doesn't hurt to make sure."

Shirou was deep in thought for a moment.

"If you want, it should be fine. Just in case it becomes relevant later."

Shirou did not trust Nephis. She was obviously someone special, and considering that she had lied about her attributes, he decided that he should know as much as possible in case someone else ends up in danger.

Sunny seemed to also have similar thoughts, although not as altruistic as Shirou. Sunny nodded, causing Cassie to list out her attributes.

"She is of the Sun God's lineage. She also has a connection to the Dream Realm and Waking World. Her last one is that she is not only affiliated with divinity…"

"…But also the profane."