Caius Astroweild’s POV
I was lying inside a small tub while cold water covered my body, washing away the dirt clinging to me along with the exhaustion that had built up over the days.
It had already been nearly two days since what happened in Asfaria... since we fled while everything burned behind us and turned to ash.
During these days, we moved without stopping to leave the maze, and of course, to get as far away as possible in case that ancient monster was still alive.
That meant moving in broad daylight beneath the heat of the burning sun... but who were we to complain about something like that.
During these days, all we did was walk, without encountering a single monster.
So we did not fight any battles, and all we did was move north without stopping.
That was a sign that everything in the maze had either fled or simply hidden in the depths of this place.
So after those two days, we reached the end... the end of those stone walls and this strange place, only to find that familiar desert.
It was true that we had not fought anything, but we were still injured... well, not me anyway.
But Elliot’s hand bones were damaged, while Izel, Ellen, and even Kyle had some burns caused by Adam.
I rested my head against the edge of the tub and, with the dim light of one of the lamps I had brought with me, I stared at the stone ceiling while remembering what happened a few days ago.
From meeting Arthania and going to her house, then speaking with that old man and discovering the existence of ruins before he gave me a warning to leave.
Then breaking through to Rank 3 only to discover that all of Asfaria had merely been a ritual of ascension performed by an ancient monster... and we had almost become part of that ritual.
If not for my breakthrough to Rank 3, perhaps we would have remained there forever... or at least until the ancient monster was done with us, then who knew what would happen.
I raised my hand, water flowing between my fingers, before placing it over my face.
"That was insane," I muttered as I remembered that battle against Adam, especially what happened afterward.
That moment when I almost died at Arthania’s hands, and if not for the old man’s intervention, I might truly have died.
But really, what a crazy woman.
I did not know what her life had been like, but it was obvious that it had been pure hell.
Not everyone could accept that they had been a puppet and that their entire life had been a lie in only a few moments, and even more than that, stand before an ancient monster and burn everything afterward... even give up their life in that way.
Honestly, I did not understand that part.
I could understand her anger and hatred toward the ancient monster, even her deep concern for her people.
But they were dead... they had died long ago.
If I were in her place, I would have run... run no matter the cost, and then I would return one day.
Return and slaughter everyone who caused me suffering.
That was why Arthania was Arthania, and I was me.
Perhaps if Arthania had been born in our era and under the right circumstances, she could have been compared to Alicia Astra Nova.
It was true that Arthania had only been Rank 5, but let us not forget that she lacked the knowledge to climb the ranks.
After all, perhaps she had been one of the first humans to break through to Rank 5.
I let out a breath while muttering, "What a life full of surprises."
I closed my eyes as I slowly sank deeper into the water until my head was completely submerged.
I stayed like that for some time, enjoying the cold before standing and climbing out.
I stepped out of the tub while water dripped from my body onto the floor.
I dried myself while putting on my clothes before leaving this temporary bathroom and heading toward the small corridor.
The place was quiet because everyone was already asleep... or at least lying in their beds.
While I remained on guard... well, there was no better guard than me after all.
With my senses covering a vast area, I could feel anything before it approached us.
But I also did not want to sleep... honestly, I was still afraid that ancient monster would come and chase us.
But even if it had not died, it had to be seriously injured at least.
I walked through the dark corridor, every step making a faint sound that echoed through the stone walls until I reached my room, or more precisely, my space between these rocks.
I entered before sitting on the stone bed in the corner, but I did not lie down.
Instead, I lazily rested my back against the wall, then with a single thought, the familiar system appeared before me.
Name: Caius Astroweild
Age: 18
Rank: 3
Sub-rank: Beginner
Abilities:
[Soul Eyes]: When activated, you can see and sense the essence and spirits of living beings.
[Sea of Soul]
Traits:
[Mind Anchor]: Your mind is steady and never lost.
I raised an eyebrow while staring at one particular line.
Age: 18
"It seems I somehow missed my birthday."
I had never been fond of looking at this thing before... well, not now either.
So I never knew when my birthday was... and what a surprise, it had been on one of the previous three days.
Without realizing it, a faint smile slipped onto my lips.
"What a special birthday party."
...
The six of us sat around a familiar stone table and on the same familiar chairs... or more precisely, Elliot had created exact copies of our previous shelters.
I looked at them. Their faces looked much better after the rest they had gotten in the past hours.
But their expressions still looked a little lost, like people carrying many thoughts in their heads at the same time.
Resting her head on her hand while her red hair spilled across the table, Izel looked at Leona as she spoke.
"So Leona, you told us earlier that you dreamed of a vision about what happened even before we entered the maze."
Leona leaned back against her chair and turned her head slightly, her blue hair swaying as her gaze met Izel’s while she answered.
"I did not know it was a vision at the time, and I did not realize it until later at the banquet."
"It was not as if it was detailed... all I saw was myself trapped in darkness while ethereal threads burrowed into my body and took control of me."
"Even so, it is still amazing that you can see the distant future... is that another part of your ability?" Elliot added while Leona shrugged.
"I really do not know, and it is not that amazing... it does not seem like something I can control."
Ellen sighed.
"It is fine, just let us know if this happens again."
Leona nodded at her words while Ellen stared into space.
"This was the second time we encountered a true disaster, and perhaps we almost ended up with something worse than death."
Everyone fell silent for a while until Kyle broke that silence.
"What is a ritual of ascension?"
His question echoed through the room while Izel also nodded, her eyes stopping on me.
"Yeah, you still have not told us what it is."
Well, now I remembered that those two had not fully understood our previous conversations.
"I do not know much about it either... but it is the method monsters of the higher ranks follow, guided by their instincts, to achieve greatness and advance to the next rank."
I sighed.
"Earlier, it seemed to me like a ritual of ascension... and perhaps I was right, because after all, that monster seemed very close to Rank 7."
Silence filled the place while everyone stared at me until Elliot narrowed his eyes and asked in a suspicious voice.
"How could someone like you know that... even the Axis does not contain this information."
I shrugged indifferently.
"I have my ways."
"Anyway, that does not matter now. What really matters is thinking about our next step and deciding our destination." Ellen brought up the most important point.
Elliot looked away from me as he changed the subject.
"There really is not much besides what that old man said about there being ruins somewhere in this world."
"He was not even sure," Izel added.
In the next moment, I felt sharp eyes stop on me and found Kyle looking at me.
I raised an eyebrow while he spoke.
"Didn’t that old man throw something to you before we left?"
I smiled and nodded.
"Yes, he did."
With a small push of essence into my ring, I pulled out a folded piece of paper and raised it for everyone to see.
"It is not anything important, but it might help us on our long journey."