Consciousness returned in its usual way, sounds first, sensation second.
Seeing would be third, if I had eyes.
I desperately wanted to summon the crimson dagger, to have the semblance of sight again, but I didn't, seeing the cores around me. It seemed I had company.
I coughed, the sound dry as a desert, strange considering I was on a ship, which was currently sailing an entire ocean.
The cores moved slightly, then a voice rang out through the small room.
The voice was slightly familiar, that of the captain.
"You're finally awake?"
The man asked, although it sounded more like a statement.
I just nodded, hoping the man wasn't turned away from me currently.
There was a sigh, before a cold glass was placed to my lips.
I took a small sip, and in that moment, all sensation came back in full force.
I coughed violently, eyes growing wide, teeth chattering against each other.
Oh God, oh God! The enormous pain settled over me like a metal blanket, stopping any movement.
I coughed again, suddenly realizing that my soul essence was on the brink of emptiness, one of the three cores having fractures.
Oh, oh I had messed up.
With that revelation, my body fell limp, my consciousness fading to the dream realm once more.
My eyes shot open, my body tensing to feel the pain that I was apparently in.
Yet nothing happened, just Mirage softly smacking me in the back with a wing.
The dagger manifested from the usual black motes, and the image that formed showed my body in perfect health, with not a sign of injury.
Same with the soul essence and cores. Full of essence, not a single crack, not a single fracture.
My brows knitted together, how was this possible? Sure, I could understand the physical exhaustion, and such.
But soul essence depletion? A fracture in a core? It should transfer with the consciousness, should it not?
I stood up, starting to walk in a small circle.
Something wasn't quite adding up, and now that I thought about it, this wasn't the first instance of this. It had already happened numerous times, never on such a drastic level though.
***
Five people sat inside a large military transport.
Sunless, one of the two males, sat leisurely, taking a sip from his mug from time to time, which contained coffee.
He may look calm on the outside, but inside he was still unsure of what to do.
Even worse, he couldn't contact Apex in any shape or form. He didn't answer any calls, nor respond to messages. Perhaps he was sleeping?
He turned his eyes on the four others in his current home on wheels, uneasyness filling him.
Morgan had decided to wait until the individual would arrived since Sunless failed to contact him privately.
He explained the situation, and she didn't seem to take offense. Or at least managed to hide it.
His gaze then shifted to her companions. Three awakened.
Sunless somewhat recognized the archer. The one who lopped off Apex's hand with an arrow. Concerning.
Then there was the giant of a man, wielding a great sword and able to create yellow transparent barriers.
And then his eyes landed on the small one.
Female from what he could tell. It was hard to discern, after all, it was quite hard to guess the gender of a person you haven't heard speak, nor see the body underneath the cloak.
Sunless let out a sigh, chugging down what remained of his coffee, then putting down the cup on the table.
His movements are slow and deliberate, as if scared to startle the squad into action.
"It would be nice of you to leave, I have a mission to run with my squad." He stated blandly.
There was a pause, before Morgan nodded and slowly left the vehicle, her own squad following after her.
***
"Lady Morgan, should we really wait for this person? Your father might not tolerate such a waste of time. '
Morgan stopped in her tracks, slowly turning to the large man.
"He will wait, just as we will."
Her tone made sure the conversation ended right then and there.
None questioned her decision.
Not like they were eager for the challenge ahead.
***
I sat in my room patiently, waiting for the nurse to bring me food.
Ah, food. How much I had missed it in these few days aboard the ship.
The texture, the flavours, the smell. All mixing perfectly into a plate of perfection.
I let out a chuckle, "perfection..."
The door soon opened, a nurse pushing in a cart with a few plates on top of it.
My mouth filled with saliva from the mere smell of it. I brightly smiled at the nurse, thanking her for taking care of me.
As soon as she left the small room, the blood coloured dagger finally manifested in my palm, the world in my mind slowly reappearing.
My shoulders sagged, and the smile on my face morphed into something more genuine.
Ah, how great it was to see, no matter what way.
Now with the burden lightened, I turned my attention to something equally important.
That of course being, food.
I picked up the knife, cutting the steak into slim pieces, before exchanging the knife for a fork.
I quickly stabbed the meat, raising it to my face.
But before I could put it in my mouth, my communicator started buzzing violently.
It continued for a few more seconds, letting me know it was a call rather than a message.
I put down the fork, the smile now replaced by a frown.
The communicator continued to buzz and vibrate on the nightstand as I approached.
Finally, I picked it up, the smile reappearing on my face.
"Well hello the-"
"There's a problem."
The voice cut him off mid-sentence, and I couldn't help but glare at the communicator.
"What could be so problematic that I would need to be informed?"
I snarked.
"Morgan's waiting at the nightmare seed."
And that was the end of my snarkiness and amusement.
"What? Why?!"
There was a pause.
"She was leading awakened to it, and now is waiting for you."
My heart almost stopped.
"ME?!"
I shouted at the communicator.
"No! Not you, well yes you. But they don't know it's you!"
Sunless quickly shouted back, realizing his previous wording error.
I released a sigh of relief, sitting down on my back.
"Why are they waiting?"
There was a pause, a longer one than before.
"Well you see, they kind of don't want to steal your gate.
So Morgan wants to either compensate you for it, or let the other Awakened do it with you. "
I chuckled, of course, of course she wants to do that. No doubt for her honor or something of the sort.
"How much is she offering for it?"
I asked lazily, the meal already forgotten.
"You're not serious."
Sunless answered, his tone filled with something I couldn't quite place.
"I mean, if it's reasonable, sure, I'm taking the deal. Sure as hell better than her realizing who I am once she sees me."
There was a pause so long that I thought Sunless had hung up on me.
"Do you know how hard it was to get this seed? Do you know how many abominations I killed for it?"
He asked softly.
And in that moment I realized I had done something selfish, and had messed up.
"I don't. But when you word it like that. Yeah, I see your point."
I was about to speak more, before I was cut off.
"No. I don't think you do."
Sunless audibly inhaled, then continued.
"I slew hundreds of creatures on my way here. I am still killing dozens each day.
This is not a joke Apex. And remember what you had promised. "
Ah... the promise. "Get me a second nightmare seed, and once I complete it I'm going to help you out."
Or something along those lines. And now I felt even more shitty about myself.
"I remember."
Was all I said back, letting Sunless take the lead in the conversation.
"Well then. I got you the seed, all that's left is for you to complete it."
The line went dead after that.
I sighed, roughly dragging a hand through my hair.
I had messed up.
***
Sunless climbed out of the beast of a machine he currently lived in, moving straight for Morgan.
She noticed quickly, standing up and approaching him.
They stopped in front of each other, a meter apart.
"He will come, he does not care for the riches you can offer."
That was all he said, turning away and walking back to his crew.
Morgan just stood there, surprised but not displeased.
after all, a second nightmare seed would be expensive.
Thanks for reading and support!